


Byeler Things

by strangerpilot



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Romantic Fluff, byler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-19 12:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8208233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangerpilot/pseuds/strangerpilot
Summary: Mike and Will are cute together.A collection of Oneshots.1-21 = season 122 onwards = season 2





	1. Christmas

Christmas for Will Byers was a strange but frightening experience.  
After coming home from the place he now knew as "the Upside Down", he had seen how it tore a part his mother and how she put lights all over the house in a crazed attempt to contact him.

The lights were taken down a day or two after he had come home, but the image of it still stuck in his head of how frantic and desperate it all looked. He wasn't going to lie, when Joyce brought out the large box of lights and Christmas decorations he felt a knot in his throat. She even joked about how "they'd never have to worry about getting new lights for the tree again". He tried to smile at that, but it was obvious that it didn't seem like a very amused smile as he caught Jonathan and his mom sharing worried glances.

Jonathan took Will out in his car to pick a Christmas tree like every year. Will would usually get excited, run from tree to tree. But this year his heart wasn't in it. Jonathan walked next to him slowly, darting his concerned eyes over him now and then. He had asked him if there was any ones he liked. Will had shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes to the floor as he walked. He could practically feel Jonathan's dissapointment, clearly he only wanted his little brother back. He felt guilty then. He felt guilty when his brother insisted on buying the most beautiful tree, although he knew they couldn't afford to.

Ever since Will had come home, he felt guilty about a lot of things. He felt guilty when his mom struggled to pay for his therapy sessions or his hospital bills after he returned home. He felt guilty when Mike spoke so fondly of this girl called Eleven, and then suddenly he would remember that she was gone and his happy face would drop into the most heart shattering look and he would go silent. He felt guilty when he heard Jonathan complain about his gas bill for his car when Joyce would insist that he was to be picked up from the Wheelers' and that he wasn't allowed to cycle home. Or he felt guilty about those nights that Jonathan couldn't drive him home and Dustin would have to walk the whole way home with him, saying as riding his bike gave him awful anxiety. Dustin would come into school the next day saying how his mom had shouted at him for getting home so late.

Will constantly felt guilty over these things that everyone was doing for him so he made a silent vow to himself that he would need to return the favour on Christmas day. Being a kid, he didn't exactly have any money. And it wasn't as if he felt okay about asking for money off his mom for Christmas presents after everything she had done for him.

He originally thought of drawing pictures for everyone, but anytime he tried to draw something his heart wasn't in it. It didn't exactly help that whenever he did draw, his calm and loving drawing somehow turned into something terrifying from that...place. He couldn't escape it no matter how hard he tried.

Defeated, he collapsed onto his bed. It was Saturday night and he was supposed to be at the Wheelers' for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that Mike had been planning for "three weeks this time. Not two. So it would be even better."

Will hated playing now. He only did it to keep his friends happy. God, he felt guilty because he wasn't there with them. Christmas was in two days, or as Dustin called it, "Christmas Eve's Eve." He still hadn't gotten any presents for his friends. He knew that they would all get him a present and he wouldn't be able to give back. Then he would feel guilty all over again, like a gross cycle. 

He wasn't looking forward to seeing Mike's face again. He would look so dissapointed and let down. He would say something like, "Why didn't you come over on Saturday? I missed not having you there." God, Will felt guilty even thinking about it. 

He turned over onto his belly and buried his head into the pillow. He wanted to cry but he couldn't. He felt so lost. There was so much emotion he was holding in but he couldn't let it out no matter how hard he tried. 

Erupting Will from his thoughts, he heard a knock at the door. He muttered a "come in." It was Jonathan.

Jonathan sat down on the bed as Will moved next to him, taking his head off the pillow and sitting upright. "You're not at the Wheelers' old place tonight, huh?"

Will noticed that Jonathan had pine needles all over him from bringing in the tree. "No." Will said in a quiet voice, a hushed whisper.

"I thought you would of been excited to go out. You know, socializing will be good for you." Jonathan gestured to his younger brother. He was really worried about him. Everyone was. 

Will knew that Jonathan was only trying to help, but he also knew that socializing didn't help one bit. Talking to people made him feel like a burden because of how they would dance around sensitive topics and constantly look worried like they were going to say something that would upset him. "I'm alright. Just a bit tired today, that's all."

Jonathan sighed, rubbing his hands together slowly. "Look. I know that you haven't really been leaving the house so you can't exactly be expected to buy the boys presents but.." he glanced at his brother, "I have some old empty mixtapes that you can use. I'm working tonight so if you want time to yourself to make them, you can do it now. Just please talk to someone Will, if you can't talk to me."

Will looked up to his older brother, expecting to see worry or dissapoinment. But he only saw a motivating face, a silent "You've got this, kid."  
He reached over and pulled Jonathan into a hug. "Thank you." he said gratefully. 

"Don't mention it." Jonathan hugged him back for a second before standing up. "I've got to go. But the tapes are on my bed for you."

Will nodded as Jonathan left, closing the door carefully behind him. He felt a bit better now, leaving his room and crossing the hall to his brothers' room, opening the door slowly. Just as Jonathan had said, there were three mixtapes sitting on the bed.  
Will sat in his big brothers room for a good two hours, picking out special tracks for each of his friends.  
When he got to Mike's tape, he couldn't help but feel a lurch in his chest. Mike came from a well off family, and he always bought the best presents. Would he even care for Will's tape? Would he think it was stupid? He shook the thought from his head. He wasn't allowed to think like that now. This tape was the only option he had, two days before christmas. He always wanted to impress Mike, so he picked some of the most important songs to him. Including "Should I Stay or Should I Go." He hadn't listened to that song in such a long time but he felt that it would say a lot more if he was the only one out of the three kids that had that song on their tape.

Will breathed out after finishing all three tapes. He looked at them in his hands, he was sitting cross legged on Jonathan's bed.  
They looked really boring and dull. Jonathan was always good with a felt tip pen, and he would always draw cool designs on his to make them look cool. Will's looked extremely dull and undermining of how much they meant. 

He left Jonathan's room quietly, three mixtapes in his hand. Wandering into the living room, he noticed that his mom was on the sofa. She was asleep, clearly from working all night long. Her hair had fallen over her face and she was still in her clothes. He reached over and pulled the old blanket that sat upon the couch on her. She sighed contently in her sleep.

Will tiptoed into the kitchen, grabbing a cereal bar as dinner and ran back into his room. This isn't the first time he had went without dinner. Joyce always assuned that Will was at the Wheelers' on Saturdays and collapsed onto the sofa to catch up on a whole week of lost sleep. Will didn't mind. He was grateful to even have food, after all he had spent a full week in a place with none.

He opened the packet, taking a bite as he took out his old paints and a fine brush. He painted green designs on Lucas' tape. Red on Dustin's and blue on Mike's. 

After he had finished, he sat them on an old piece of newspaper and let them dry. Just as he was sitting down the third tape he heard a knock behind him. Whirling around in terror, expecting to see a disgusting monster, instead he seen the kind face of Mike Wheeler who was knocking on his bedroom window.  
Breathing out shakily, he rushed over to the window and with shaking hands he opened it slowly. 

"How come you didn't come to mine earlier?" He whispered as a greeting. He didn't seem upset or angry like Will had expected. If Mike had cycled over, how late was it? Will turned around and peered at the clock on the wall. 11pm? Mike obviously sneeked out as everyone left his house at 10 usually.

Realising he hadn't answered, Will shook his head. "Oh. Sorry." scrambling his head for an answer but not wanting to lie, he said "I was working on everyone's Christmas presents. But they're done now."

Mike's eyes lit up. "You're making them? I can't wait." And with that all of Will's previous worries about it not being enough vanished.

Will smiled. "Y-yeah. It's not much though."

Mike shook his head. "Give yourself more credit." he said fondly, which caused Will to blush away. "Do you want to sneak out? I want to show you something I found the other day and it's not as nice looking in the daylight."

Will looked around his room. "I.. I don't know. If my mum sees that I'm not home she could get very stressed out."

Mike nodded. "Just leave a note on your bed. Say something like, 'I'm okay, just going outside for a breather. Will be home soon.' "

Will nodded, clearly satisfied with Mike's idea. He wrote out the note and left the house through the window, jumping out. He landed on his feet and staggered slightly, which caused Mike to instinctively put his arm around him.

Will felt guilty again then, that his friend was so protective of him. But when he looked up at the taller boy he noticed he was blushing, at least he thought he was in the cold blue moonlight. 

"Hey I know you don't like riding your bike, but if you want you can ride on the back of mine. It'll be quicker." Will nodded hesitantly at this, wrapping his flannel around himself tighter. He clearly forgot to bring a coat.

Noticing this, Mike pulled off a hoodie from his handle bars. "I was wearing his earlier as well as my coat but I got too hot when I was cycling. You can borrow it for now." 

Will gratefully took the hoodie and put it over his head. It was much too big for him. "I look ridiculous." he said, half laughing. The hoodie was nice and warm and fluffy on the inside. It smelled of Mike as well, which was a mixture of musk and pure vanilla.

"You look cute." Mike blurted out, before realising what he said and pretending to laugh, like it was a joke. Will chuckled with him, his stomach giving off weird butterflies.

Mike got onto his bike, Will getting on after him. He wasn't exactly sure where to put his hands so he carefully rested them on Mike's shoulders. 

Mike started cycling off the grass that was the Byer's old yard and going downhill, avoiding Mirkwood as a silent acknowledgment. Will sighed gratefully. 

Both boys said nothing. Will had no idea where they were going and began to worry. What if Mike really was mad at him for not turning up for the campaign that took three weeks and not two weeks to plan? What if he was going to take him somewhere and shout at him?

Mike turned a corner into a small clearing with two trees guarding the entrance. Getting off his bike, Will followed. If Mike was mad at him, there was no way of him getting out of it now.

Mike stopped, pulling back some brush and vines and letting Will step through. He couldn't help but gasp. There was a small grassy clearing with a tiny river flowing through it. Trees shielded them, but moonlight peered in through the branches and onto the river. It glistened a great shade of icy blue. Will watched as it sparkled and danced in the light.

He almost forgot that Mike was there until he heard him from behind him. "Do you like it?"

Will nodded, whirling around and smiling. Little did he know, Mike was a lot closer than he thought and he took a startled step backwards, almost landing into the small river. The taller boy caught him by the hand, pulling him back onto dry land, laughing. He didn't let go of Will's hand and Will didn't let go of Mike's.

The smaller boy looked down at their intertwined hands before looking up at Mike who wasn't looking away. Blushing slightly, Will leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Mike smiled, squeezing the other's hand, a shade of pink boiling in his face. 

"So you like it?" Mike whispered.

"I love it." Will smiled, genuinely for the first time in weeks.


	2. A Weekend at Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dustin and Lucas go away for a weekend on a school trip.
> 
> The other two have a sleepover.
> 
> Cute fluffy things.

It was June. Hawkin's Middle School and High School gathered up together every end of year and went on a school trip for the weekend.

Nancy had told Mike they used to go to cool places, like France. Mike hardly believed her because anytime that he was attending the school everyone got onto old buses and drove half an hour to some place in the middle of no where.  
It was boring, and he hated going. He used to not mind going because he could bring his Dungeons and Dragons box and gather up the boys and play.  
But last year, Troy bust into their room with a teacher behind him. The teacher shouted at them and confiscated the game, saying they shouldn't be playing something so immature and that they should be playing something educational. She then gave them math cards, which got boring pretty quickly as you could imagine. 

Mike was determined to not go this year. He tried everything he could think of. He hid his permission slip and said he lost it, but his teacher only smiled and printed him another. He faked being sick, but his mother seen right through it when she walked into his room and found him reading X-Men when he claimed he had a headache so awful that he could barely see. He pretended to run away but his parents found him 5 minutes later at Lucas' house.

It was thursday night. He was supposed to be leaving to go to the trip tomorrow. Out of ideas, he flopped onto the sofa in the basement.  
The boys weren't supposed to come over tonight because they were all packing to leave.  
Mike ran his hands over his face. "Damn it!" he said aloud. Frustrated, he stood up and paced the room. Weekends weren't for getting bullied by Troy and his gang. Weekends were a safe time of the week where him and his best friends' got together and could safely be themselves and not worry about bullies. 

Suddenly, his mind clicked. How did he not think of this before? Stopping in his tracks, he grinned. Will.  
Everyone knew that the youngest out of the Byers family wasn't able to make it to this years trip.  
Probably because he handed over his permission slip and their teacher made him explain in front of everyone why he couldn't go.  
"My mum wants me to stay at home." he had said, which caused quite a few giggles.  
Everyone knew that Joyce had always been protective of the baby in the family, but it had heightened after he had gone missing a few months ago.

Mike sat down again and thought. Will had always liked the trips. He never really understood why if he was honest. Will liked learning about wildlife he guessed. After they would go out orienteering or whatever else they had to do, covered in mud and complaining of cramps, Will would always excitedly pull out his sketchbook and draw whatever he could remember. Squirrels, plants, flowers, trees, you name it. Will loved all of it. Nobody else really cared about that weird gooey looking stuff that came out of the trees but Will would stand and listen with wide eyes and a smile as the ranger would explain to them. And he would be talking about the trip for weeks after, as well. He loved it. 

The fact that Will wasn't allowed to go this year broke his heart. Whenever Mike, Lucas or Dustin would complain about going, Will would look shattered and say something like, "Tell me all about it when you guys get back."

It was clear as day that he felt left out. Mike felt bad, he wished he could be more excited for the trip so he could come back and explain 50 facts about pollution and how it affects the enviroment. But he couldn't, because it just didn't interest him. He could happily tell you 50 star wars facts. But the environment? Not so much. 

He felt bad, but maybe his mom would let him stay at home because of Will? He could come over for a sleepover if he wanted and he could make sure that he didn't feel left out.

Happy with his plan, he jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs. "Mom?" walking briskly into the kitchen, he seen Nancy and Jonathan at the table, Joyce and Mrs Wheeler were looking at them, concerned.  
Nancy was crying. Jonathan had his arm around her.  
Mrs Wheeler turned around in her seat. "Michael, sweetie. Now isn't the time." 

Mike, clearly confused, said "Why is Nancy crying? What happened?"  
Nancy looked at him, her face stained with tears. "It doesn't matter." she said sternly.  
She turned around, leaning into Jonathan who rubbed her back comfortingly.

Mike stood awkwardly in the doorway. His eyes met with Jonathan and he gave him a questioning look. Jonathan shook his head.

Suddenly noticing Will wasn't with them, he panicked. "Where's Will?" his eyes widened.  
Joyce was snapped out of her thoughts, standing up. "He didn't come over here?"

Mike shook his head. "N-no. We were supposed to be packing our things tonight for the school trip tomorrow."

Joyce ran her hands through her hair. "Oh shit - sorry. Oh crap."

Jonathan looked up at her. "You let him cycle on his own?"

Joyce shook her head. "It was bright daylight. I thought nothing would happen to him and it's been so long Jonathan. He was building up his confidence to ride his bike and go out and I didn't want to take that away from him." she spoke at a rapid pace, chewing on her nails. 

"Relax." Mike tried to say comfortingly, but in reality his skin was crawling and he was stressed out of his mind. "I'm sure he is just chilling in one of our spots somewhere. I'll go and have a look."

Mrs Wheeler tried to protest. It was too late though, Mike was flat out running to his bike. 

He checked everywhere. Mirkwood, the forest, the fields, that creepy marsh they found that one time.  
Mike sighed and pulled over on the side of the road. Taking his walkie talkie from his bag, he pressed the button.  
"Will, Dustin, Lucas. Does anyone copy?"

He waited a moment and was about to give up when he heard a crack on the other line.  
"Will here. I copy." he heard the kind voice and his heart lurched. If Will was able to hear him, he was nearby. He wasn't kidnapped or anything bad like that.  
"Will!" Mike let out a breath of relief. "I've been looking for you. Where are you?"  
He waited, not getting anything back. He began to worry.  
"Why are you looking for me?" Will asked, an innocent question. He really doesn't understand how worried everyone is for him, does he?  
Realising it probably wasn't best to mention that his mom was about to have a mental breakdown at the fact that he wasn't at his house, Mike said, "I needed to tell you about our plans for tomorrow." Immediately regretting it, he squeezed his eyes shut and cringed. What if Mrs Wheeler said no to staying at home? On top of that, after all of this, Joyce would want her son at home for a few nights until she feels safe again.  
He heard Will sigh. "I can't make it tomorrow, remember?"  
"No!" Mike said a little too loudly, "I don't think I'm going, either. I can explain it to you when I see you."  
Sounding a little happier, Will responded, "Really? Okay! I'm at the store just down the road fron your house."

Mike sighed in relief. He was glad that he was able to convince Will to tell him where he was. He wasn't sure how his actions would backfire, though.  
Putting his things away and jumping on his bike, he cycled down the hill.

Soon enough he reached the store and found Will standing outside, the handlebars of his bike in both hands. When he spotted Mike his face lit up and he smiled, walking towards him.  
"Hi Mike!" he greeted the other boy happily.  
Mike nodded and smiled. "We need to go up to my house. I can explain everything there, ok? I haven't exactly convinced my mom yet.."

Will shook his head. "Wait, what? You haven't told your mom yet that you're not going?" he looked confused.

"It's a long story. Just let me do the talking, ok? I feel bad leaving you here on your own over the weekend." Mike began to cycle, the other boy jumping on his own and catching up.

Will cycled along next to him. "Mike, you don't need to cancel your plans just because I'm not going." he didn't sound angry, only comforting.

"No. It's just-" Mike sighed. "I don't really like going there. Troy always bullies us. Honestly, you getting excited about things and drawing me pictures is the only good bit."

Will looked down. His stomach was giving him butterflies and he couldn't understand why. Not knowing what to say, he said, "I'll go along with any story you've got."

Mike looked over at him gratefully. Soon enough they both arrived at the Wheelers' place.

Mike opened the door for Will and they both walked inside. Mike lead him into the kitchen. 

Joyce jumped out of her chair and rushed over to her son. "Will! Where were you?" she pulled him into a hug. Will, clearly confused, made a face at Mike.

"I'm sorry Mrs Byers. Will had asked me to go cycling with him. I got so caught up in my thoughts that I forgot about it. I'm sorry." Mike hug his head for effect.

Mrs Wheeler looked angry. "Michael. You can forget about going to that trip tomorrow."  
Mike pretened to look depressed.

"God, Mike. You're an awful friend sometimes." Nancy commented.

"No he's not!" Will said protectively. Everyone went silent and looked at Will, who was now a brilliant shade of red.

After a moment of silence, Joyce sat down again. "This.. Trip. That's tomorrow?"

Jonathan nodded. "It's all that the kids have been talking about for weeks." he looked at Mike, obviously knowing that Mike really didn't want to go. Jonathan had been around the boys a lot, from picking up Will on Saturdays and just generally being around them when they came over from the Byers' household. He knew that Mike hated it there because he was bullied.

Joyce sighed. "Crap. Me and Jonathan are working all night tomorrow, I forgot. I don't have anyone to look after Will."

Mrs Wheeler spoke up. "We'd be happy to have him over. I think Mike owes it to him."

Mike tried to hide his grin but Jonathan seen it.  
"We'd better get going." he sighed, "it's getting late and Will needs to get to bed."  
He stood up, putting his arm around his brother's shoulder. He winked at Mike as if to say, "Your secret is safe with me."  
Will smiled brightly at him. Mike returned the favor.

As Joyce was walking out, she nodded to him. "Thank you for bringing him back."  
Mike nodded back to her.

After they left, he sprinted up to his room before his mother or Nancy could say anything else.

 

-

Mike was in the basement. He had pulled out two sleeping bags, laying them across the floor.  
He sighed. He didn't really know what the two boys were going to spend their time doing. His dad hogged the tv as usual. They couldn't play dungeons and dragons because they needed at least one other player.

Tired, he lay back on the couch. He rested one leg up and the other lay flat. His arm lay across his stomach.  
Breathing deeply, he felt himself drift off. He didn't get much sleep the night before. He worried a lot. He worried about why Nancy was crying, he worried about how Dustin and Lucas would react when they get back and find out they had a sleepover without them, but most of all he worried about Will. Why did he just leave the house last night? It was so unlike the kid. He practically never wanted to be alone.

Just as Mike was finally getting those needed moments of shut eye- he was awoken to his mother's voice.  
"Michael? Did you hear me?"  
Mike sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry mom."  
She rolled her eyes. "Will is arriving soon. I'm telling you. If you do anything to him-"

"What? Mom! He's my best friend, why would I hurt him?" Mike exclaimed. Talking about Will was a touchy subject for him. He cared a lot for the other boy.

Clearly taken aback by Mike's response, his mother spoke, "Do not shout at me Michael Wheeler! After last night-"

Mike stood up. "Last night was a mistake! I love him!"

Mrs Wheeler's eyes widened. Mike couldn't understand why until he realised what he said.

"As a friend." he muttered, although he didn't quite believe it. Did he really just say he loved Will Byers?

Mrs Wheeler was quiet, and moved gracefully towards the couch. She sat down, patting the seat beside her. Mike shook his head.

"Michael, sit down." she said, and Mike rolled his eyes, sitting on the couch, as far away from her as possible.

There was an awkward moment of silence, before she spoke up. "Are you queer, Michael?"

Mike closed his eyes. His heart was pounding. He knew that he couldn't come out. It was too dangerous and in times like these, being different was a bad thing.

"No." he said sternly. When his mom didn't look convinced, he spoke, "I love all of my friends, alright? Nothing queer about it."

Mrs Wheeler breathed out. "Ok. Good. I'll send Will down to you once he arrives."

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, he relaxed. A few tears fell from his eyes. Was he really questioning if he was a fag right now? Did he love Will?

Not long after, Will happily bounded down the stairs. "Hey Mike!" he called. He had a sketchbook under his arm and a brown bag full of candy. When he spotted Mike's fornlorn figure, he placed his things on the table and rushed to sit next to him, not bothering to take off his backpack."What's wrong?" he whispered gently, rubbing his back.

Mike sat up straight, wiping his eyes. "My mom thinks I'm a queer."  
Will's eyes widened. "Are you?"

Mike was about to get angry. Shout and say that he would never be a fag. But his eyes caught with Will's. Will had beautiful brown eyes. They weren't dark brown, but they were hazel and had a bit of green in them. They were beautiful and they took Mike's breath away.  
"I don't know." he breathed, and another tear rolled down his cheek.

Will watched as it fell. He didn't seem angry or disgusted. He took a tissue fom his pocket and wiped Mike's eyes. "That's ok. I don't mind. Please don't cry, Mike."

Mike let out a breath of relief. "Y-You don't think it's gross?"  
Will shook his head. "It's similar to Lucas. People sometimes think he's gross because he's black. Remember? When we went to Mirkwood and he was called names when we cycled past. But Lucas can't help the fact he was born black. It's who he is. And I think the same for you." he shrugged, "You can't help who you have a crush on."

Mike thought about it. "Thank you, Will."

Will nodded, silent for a moment. "Didn't you have a crush on Eleven?"

"Y-Yeah." Mike ran his hand through his hair. "I did. Are you allowed to like both?"

Will shrugged, "I've never heard of it but I assume you can."

Both boys sat in a comfortable silence, thinking.

Will spoke up. "Mike, I'm queer."

Mike looked at him with widened eyes. "Really?" he began to smile.

Will nodded, a smile forming on his own lips.

Mike grinned, wiping away any last tears that had remained. "That's good. I'm glad I'm not the only one."

The two boys looked at each other, smiling, a bubbly feeling in each of their chests. 

"Anyway." Will said, breaking eye contact. "I got candy at the store. Do you want some?"


	3. Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys' visit Will in hospital.

Will had been in hospital for a week. He was recovering moderately well, but obviously the doctors had no idea how to deal with the effects of a toxic alternate dimension.

Mike had been anxious to get out of school. He had been having the worst day.  
He woke up late in the morning and rushed to get on his bike. He then found that his tires were flat and he had to run to school, meaning he arrived particularly sweaty and gross. He also got lunchtime detention for arriving to school an hour late. On top of that, he forgot to bring his schoolbag when he was rushing out of the house. So he also got phoned home and his mom had to bring his schoolbag to him, which she wasn't happy about.

Collapsing at his desk, he sighed and lay his head on the cool surface. It was science class now. Last lesson of the day. At least it was bearable. The day had dragged on so much because of his detention, and he was completely exhausted.  
Dustin and Lucas sat themselves down next to Mike, Dustin ruffling his hair as he passed him.  
Mike grunted and sat upright. He didn't bother taking out his books. He didn't have the energy.

Lucas looked over to him. "Are you okay?"  
Mike turned and gave him a look that silently said, "Really? You're asking me that after the awful day I've had?"

Lucas held his hands up in defeat. "Aight man."

The lesson dragged on, Mike barely staying awake. Usually he would love Science. Plus they were studying specifically Chemistry today, which meant cool experiments.

Dustin and Lucas were overjoyed by the experiment. Mike watched as they placed aluminium strips into different acids and how they giggled when one started to fizz or do something.

Mike breathed out, looking over to Will's desk from where he stood by the test tubes. He missed him. Usually when experiments happened in class you would have one partner every time. Mike usually worked with Will so he didn't have a partner and was told to work with the other two boys.  
Because they were so used to working with each other, they usually forgot Mike was even standing there with them.  
He had given up on trying to contribute. He wished that Will was still here, in school. He missed him.  
Lucas and Dustin would start petty fights or have their own special friendship and he felt left out.

He missed having Will with him. He missed those times where Dustin and Lucas would start wrestling and Will would roll his eyes at Mike affectionately. Mike could stand the constant shouting of the other two then. But now he found it irritating and left out.

Mike missed having Science class with Will as well. He missed how big the white safety apron was on him, or how the goggles would continually slide off his nose.  
He missed how Will stuck out his tongue when concentrating. Or when he did something right he would over exaggerate the shit out of it.

"I got it!" Lucas shouted. And for a second Mike swore that he thought it was Will's overly happy voice.  
Erupting him from his thoughts, he looked at one of the test tubes that was fizzing and giving off a gas.  
"Awesome." Dustin grinned a toothless smile, leaning down to take a closer look at the test tube. As he did, he accidently breathed in some (non toxic) gas, which caused him to fall backwards, coughing. "I'm going to die!" he exclaimed.  
Lucas began laughing uncontrollably at the boy having a coughing fit.  
"Why are you laughing?" Dustin shouted, "I'll be dead by tomorrow!"

Mike shook his head, smiling. "Dustin, it's non toxic. They're not going to give us an experiment with toxic gas in middle school."  
Dustin's eyes widened. "Are you implying that they give us toxic gas in high school?"  
Lucas was still laughing loudly, causing everyone to turn and look at the scene.  
Mike would admit, it looked rather odd. Dustin was laying on the floor with his hand clutched to his chest, doing "breathing exercises" as he called it, when in reality all he was doing was making weird faces and breathing heavily.  
Lucas was asked to leave the class so he did, still hanging himself laughing.  
Mike sighed. Everyone could still hear Lucas laughing wth the door closed.  
This was the kind of shit he had to put up with. He chuckled absentmindly.

-

Mike was excited to visit Will. He brought a few things for him. He brought his walkie talkie, some candy, and a new box of crayons.  
Jonathan had agreed to give the three boys a lift. 

Lucas and Dustin told Jonathan everything from Science class that day.  
"I could of died!" Dustin argued, still convinced the gas wasn't safe, "Lucas just stood there, laughing his ass off at me!"  
Mike said nothing. He had heard the story several times from when they had explained it to multiple people. It was funny the first time, but now he was tired of it. He just wanted to see Will.  
He knew that the boys were going to be loud again. They were going to repeat the same story over, and that Mike will probably just sit in silence like he is now. He wanted to spend some time with Will, just the two of them. He wanted to sit and draw in peace or chat about comics.  
He had a pretty awful day and all he needed was some quiet time.

Soon enough, they reached the hospital. Mike practically jumped out of the car, and half ran to the hospital entrance.

Will was able to get up and move nowadays, but he still needed oxygen so he still was getting that through a tank and into his nose.  
When the boys opened the door they spotted the frail figure of Will. He was in his white hospital gown. He was a lot skinnier than usual, which was understandable saying as they didn't exactly have pizza in the Upside Down.

He was standing in front of a bookshelf, flipping through a book that was clearly a nursery book. That's the thing with being in a children's ward. They don't exactly cater entertainment for anyone over the age of five.

"Will!" Lucas shouted, and as expected, the two boys attacked him with hugs.

"Hey guys." he said patiently, putting the book down and wrapping his arms around them. He looked over their shoulders to see Mike who was still standing in the doorway.  
Smiling, he closed the door. The other two boys had finished with their cuddle attack and were reciting the events of Science class.  
Mike walked up to Will and hugged him, a much more gentle hug. He was a lot more wary of Will's condition.

Will wrapped his arms around Mike's shoulders and Mike's arms wrapped around his waist.  
Will held his hug for a second longer than the other boys, giving him a light squeeze.  
Mike pulled back and smiled at Will.  
Holding up a brown paper bag, "I got you stuff." Mike said.  
Lucas, who was in the middle of shouting at Dustin (again), telling him that NO. The gas wasn't toxic, suddenly turned around. "Oh yeah! I drew you something."

Will shook his head, immediately regretting it as he put a hand to it in pain. "You guys didn't have to." he said gratefully, moving over to the bed and sitting on it cross legged.

The three boys followed in suit, barely fitting onto the bed but somehow making it work.  
Lucas handed over his drawing. It was of a tree with a face.  
"Wow, that's a really good drawing of a tree!" Will said supportively.  
Lucas looked confused. "It's not a tree, it's your D&D character."  
Will looked back to the drawing. "Oh now I see it! I'm sorry." It was very clear that he did not see Will the Wise. All he seen was a god damn tree, but hey the effort was there.  
Mike handed over his brown bag.  
Will thanked him, slowly opening it with careful and nimble fingers.  
He took out the crayons. "Yes!" he said excitedly. "Do you have any idea how long I've been drawing red with green because I had none left? My character looked like he was shooting cabbages."  
Will took out the other things and thanked him.

Immediately, as soon as Will went quiet, Dustin and Lucas exploded into a new story. Mike listened to them for a while, but ended up zoning out like he always does.  
Will, being patient and nice as usual, sat and waited for them to finish, listening to them the entire time. Mike didn't know how he could keep up but he admired his friend for it.

Suddenly, mid story, Dustin announced that he needed to pee.  
"Me too actually." Lucas stated, and they were out of the room as quick as they came in.

Mike let out an exasperated groan and lay back onto the bed.  
"They've been tiring you out all day?" Will said, smiling fondly back at his friend who was laying flat beside him.  
"You have no idea." Mike said in a hushed voice. "How has hospital been?"  
Will scrunched up his face. "Boring. Lonely." he sighed, "It used to not be as bad when Jonathan and mom could come see me. But they needed to start work again so they can only see me in the evenings if they don't have night shifts."  
Mike nodded. "I brought your walkie talkie. I don't know what the signal will be like but if I can contact you from my house I'll chat to you."  
Will smiled. "Thank you, Mike. It means a lot to me."

The both of them were left in a comfortable silence then, looking into each others eyes.  
Mike could of sworn Will inched towards him and his stomach flipped.

Suddenly Dustin burst into the room. "Lucas took a shit and it frickin' stinks!" he shouted, causing Will to whip around and explode into a fit of giggles.  
Mike laughed along with him, although secretly was questioning his entire sexuality right now.

He zoned out from the talking again, and snapped out of it when Will reached over him to take his candy off the dresser, his hand brushing Mike's. Will's eyes immediately flashed quickly over to Mike's and he smiled.

Will shared out the candy and the two arguing boys shut up, now content.  
"That drawing really did look like a tree though, didn't it." Dustin said, breaking the silence. Lucas responded by punching him in the arm.

Dustin gave him a look and pushed him off the bed, and the two boys started wrestling.

Will turned around to Mike with a smile and rolled his eyes, and Mike felt at home.


	4. I Can't Look Away.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word: cuddling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This oneshot is inspired by a song by Ahrix called Dreams. There is no speaking in the song, but whenever I listen to it I imagine that is how Will feels when he can't look away from Mike (like in the first episode)]

Ahrix - Dreams. Please listen.  
-

Will sat in silence. They were over at Lucas' house for a sleepover.  
Lucas had brought up a sleeping bag and an old air mattress. It was a double bed mattress.  
Mike and Dustin had argued forever over who should share a bed. Eventually Lucas, finding that he was "too tired for this shit", collapsed on his bed which sat in the middle of the room.

Will suggested a game of rock paper scissors, which Dustin won. Mike got annoyed but didn't bother fighting anymore as he glared at the curly haired boy that proudly lay down in his sleeping bag. 

Will sighed. "I'm going to get changed." he announced in a hushed voice as he could hear Lucas' soft snores. Mike turned to him, nodding as he picked up the duvet that their friend had given them. He lay it over the bed and sorted out the pillows.  
Will watched him for a moment, one hand on the door. Mike was strangely perfect in his own way. He had long lanky arms and fingers, he was skinny but stood with a unknown confidence.  
Dustin turned over, catching Will lingering gaze on Mike. Will turned to him and his eyes widened as he saw his friend staring at him.  
Dustin smiled and made a zipping motion over his lip and threw away the imaginary key.  
Dustin knew that Will was gay. All of his friends did. They were okay with it, in fact they embraced it. "Everyone has something different about them in our party." Dustin had said when Will burst into tears, telling them everything. "I have this weird bone condition. Lucas is black in a mainly white populated town. Mike is... actually I have no idea what is different about Mike."  
Mike had punched him in the arm pretty hard. "What he's trying to say, Will, is that it's okay. We're all outsiders."

So all of them knew about him liking other boys. But only Dustin knew how he felt about Mike. It was not a spoken thing, more like a silent acknowledgement. Dustin somehow always seemed to catch Will in things. Like when he busted into Castle Byers (without saying Radagast), and seen Will drawing a picture of Mike's name with a heart around it. Dustin had pretended he didn't see it as Will hid the drawing under the mattress. The other two boys politely said the password unlike their rude friend so he was able to hide it in time before they entered. 

Dustin had caught Will being entranced by Mike so often it didn't even cross his mind anymore. He would just poke him discreetly or clear his throat. Will was embarrassed when these things happened but also grateful. He often found himself not being able to look away from his friend. He would admire every little thing about him. He sometimes worried that someday Mike would catch him in his staring. He had no idea how the dark haired boy would react. Will would probably panic and not be able to look at Mike for weeks.  
Or what if Lucas caught him? Lucas had been unsure about Will being gay, but eventually came around to it. If anything suggestive of homosexuality was brought up at all, he would feel very uncomfortable, though. Will just concluded that some people have different ways and different paces at dealing with things and that Lucas needed more time.

Will opened the door fully, grabbing his backpack and walking down the hall into the bathroom. He quickly got changed into his X-Men pjs.  
He took his toothbrush from his bag and began to brush his teeth. As he brushed, he thought.  
He was so close to being caught in the act. Come to think of it, Mike was about to look up and see him staring. Or was he? Maybe Will was just overthinking. He did that a lot. It gave him really bad anxiety.  
He spat out his toothpaste. Dustin was right. He had once told Will that Mike was incredibly oblivious to everything. He said it "blew his damn mind."  
Will hadn't exactly been discreet about his feelings for Mike. He drew more drawings for him than the others. Whenever there was a group conversation, his attention would always be fully on Mike and what he had to say.  
Mike was either dumb, or he knew. Will's stomach lurched as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and ran water down the sink to wash away the toothpaste.  
What if Mike did know? And he was still being kind to Will so he didn't hurt his feelings?  
What if he thought that Will was clingy and annoying but didn't mention it to him because of how sensitive he could be?

Will sighed, looking into the bathroom mirror as he put his clothes away and zipped up his bag. He needed to stop overthinking. It wasn't good for him.  
He opened the door to the bathroom, and took once step right into Mike Wheeler.

He gasped and Mike let out a startled noise, practically falling ontop of Will.  
Will held his friend up and Mike laughed, taking a step backwards. His hand was rubbing his neck awkwardly.  
He was looking at the floor, and Will panicked. Why did he look so nervous? Did Dustin tell him?

"Sorry!" Will said, a convincing smile on his face. He pushed gently past Mike, who tilted his frame to the side and let Will past.  
Will walked down the small hallway, glancing back at the bathroom door right before he entered Lucas' room. 

Mike was still standing in the doorway, his hand behind his neck. He hadn't moved. He was watching Will but quickly turned away when Will caught him.  
Will's heart skipped a beat. Was Mike staring at him when he thought that Will didn't see him? 

Will shook his head clear of thoughts. He shouldn't get his hopes up.  
As he walked into the bedroom he saw that Lucas and Dustin were already passed out, both snoring softly. 

Will breathed out in relief. Dustin couldn't of told Mike. He would of gotten to excited about telling him, so there was no way he could fall asleep straight away. Mike tiptoed to the blow up mattress, laying down and pulling the fluffy duvet over him. He lay on the side next to the wall. He felt safer that way. 

Sighing and closing his eyes, he began to drift off. Damn this duvet was comfy. It felt like heaven. He buried his nose and mouth under it so only his eyes were shown.  
Just as he was falling asleep, he heard the door creak. He kept his eyes closed, still mentally beating himself up from earlier.

There was a moment of silence, too long of a silence. It doesn't take that long to walk across a room. Suddenly he heard shuffling and he felt Mike getting under the covers next to him.

Will felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. Mike was so close to him, he could hear his soft breathing and feel his comforting presence. He could get used to this.

Will must of been doing a pretty amazing job at pretending to be asleep, because he felt Mike reach out to Will's hand and brush against it experimentally.  
Will's heart was racing. No, it was an accident. It couldn't be what he thought. Mike wasn't gay. He kissed that girl, El.

A moment passed, and Will thought his friend was falling asleep. He listened to the quiet of the room.

Suddenly, Mike moved again, switching off the bedside lamp that was next to Lucas' bed, coating the room in darkness.

Will silently freaked. He remembered that he always told the other boys that no lights were to be turned off until he was asleep. He was afraid of the dark. He always had been but now it was worse than ever after spending a week in darkness in the Upside Down.

Of course it was intentional that Mike reached out and touched Will's hand. He had tried to see if he was awake.

A tear rolled down his cheek and he breathed out a shaky breath. He was terrified. He wouldn't be able to sleep now. The duvet didn't feel nice anymore. It felt like it was swallowing him whole. He let out another shaky breath.

In a silent panic, he reached out to anything to hold onto. Of course, the nearest thing was Mike. He grabbed onto the other boy's arm. Mike was facing away from him, but turned around when he felt Will suddenly hold onto him tightly.  
Will's hands were trembling uncontrollably. He could hear it. He swore that he could hear it roaring in the distance, echoing through the town. 

Realising what was going on, Mike turned around fully and pulled the boy to his chest, turning on the light with one arm, holding him with the other. Thankfully the others were not woken by the light, but Lucas grunted in his sleep.  
He turned back to the trembling boy rubbing his back slowly. "Oh my god, I'm sorry Will."

Will felt a bit safer now that he could see again, but he could barely speak. He clung onto the back of Mike's t shirt as he hugged him tightly, staining his friend's front with tears. "Sorry." he whispered.

"No," Mike whispered back, "I understand. I thought you were asleep."  
He held him there for a while. Will stopped shaking and his tight grip on his friend relaxed.  
He didn't move, still needing the closeness.  
Being able to process coherant thought again, he realised what was happening. He was buried in the chest of Mike Wheeler, his best friend whom he had a massive crush on.  
He smiled an exhausted smile. This wasn't so bad.

Mike smelled nice too. He smelled of vanilla, but it had an edge to it.  
Mike pulled back slightly much to Will's dismay. He didn't let go, but he watched Will's face.

Reaching out, he wiped away a tear from earlier. Will could barely breathe, but in a good way this time. They were so close. They didn't even need a double mattress at this point because they were both sharing Mike's pillow.

Then Mike did something that Will never expected. He kissed him. It was short and gentle.  
Will was trying to process what just happened when he did it again. Mike searched Will's face some sort of approval, beginning to panic.  
After Will realised what the fuck just happened, he beamed and blushed, hiding his now red face.

Mike's features relaxed and he brought Will close to him again.

"How long?" Will whispered as he cuddled him.

"So long. I've liked you for so long." he said in a hushed voice.

Will turned an even darker shade of red, burying his face deeper into Mike's chest. "Same." he said quietly.

"Mmfh. Shut the fuck off." Lucas said sleepily, clearly half asleep.

Mike laughed quietly, Will feeling it in his chest as he giggled silently with him.

The two boys fell asleep then, listening to the soft heartbeat of each other.

Lucas woke up to his two friends cuddling that morning. He shaked Dustin awake, pointing to them. Dustin smiled knowingly. "About time." he said aloud and lay back down, leaving Lucas standing, looking utterly confused.


	5. Pain.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will can't stand being around Mike because it reminds him of how alone he is.

I Won't Mind - Eminik remix.  
Please listen to the songs that inspire these chapters as it could help see the chapter in a better light. 

-

Will was in pain. He didn't show it to anyone. He didn't want to cause any more worry.

Will wasn't in pain over what his therapist thought he was. He wasn't in pain over the Upside Down or the Demogorgon. Those events seemed like a lifetime away. The only times he thought of those things was when it was at night and he was alone.

He was in pain over Mike. It hurt him to think how much he liked Eleven. He still talked about her to this day. He missed her so much.

Will didn't tell anyone but his mom about these feelings. Mainly because Will would come home crying every night that he was at the Wheelers'. Joyce was worried because her son was distancing himself from his friends. He barely left the house. He avoided Mike as much as he could without being suspicious. It hurt to see him.

One of the only reasons that Will was determined to make it out of the Upside Down was that Mike was on the other side.  
He of course had his mom, Jonathan and his friends but Mike always stuck in his head. It was in that "place" where he found that he had feelings for him.

Will tried to move on. But it was hard. He spent all his spare time laying in bed, not doing anything productive and having no motivation.

He wanted to get out of the Upside Down to see Mike, kiss him, and tell him how he felt. The times where Will was so close to death, he regretted not doing all of these things. He never wanted to experience that feeling again. So he swore that if he ever seen Mike again he would tell him everything.

But then he got out. He learned about Eleven. He learned about how Mike had his first kiss. Mike told him how it gave him butterflies.

Will felt sick then. He couldn't run away, when he was permanently glued to the hospital bed.  
It was horrible. Will fell into a depression then, not wanting to see Mike's face again, no matter how much it pained him. 

Jonathan knocked loudly on the door, waking him up. "Time to get up Will! Breakfast is ready!"  
Will groaned sleepily. Turning over in his bed, he got up, yawning and stretching.  
He opened his bedroom door and walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes.  
What a horrible dream. He had a lot of them lately. All they did was remind Will of how much pain he was in.

Flopping into his seat at the table, he yawned again, his eyes half open.  
Jonathan laughed, ruffling his brother's hair as he put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. "Morning sleepyhead."  
Will muttered a "Morning." back to him, picking up his fork and eating his breakfast.  
Joyce walked into the kitchen, looking at her watch frantically. "I forgot I had an early shift today. I need to go quickly." she announced into the room, at nobody in particular.  
Jonathan sighed. "Have a nice day at work, Mom."  
She nodded, not looking up, "You too. Have a lovely day at school sweetie." she said and kissed Will on the head. The called out a goodbye as she closed the door after her.

Jonathan watched her leave through the kitchen window. He took his own plate and sat next to Will. "So what classes do you have today?"  
Will was now fully awake. "Uh.." he looked up, searching his head. "Oh! Geography and Art. And the normal subjects. You know, Math, English, stuff like that." he smiled.  
"Geography and Art, huh? Aren't those your favourites?" Jonathan looked to his brother and smiled gently.  
Will nodded. "Yeah"

They ate their breakfast while making small talk. When they both finished, Jonathan picked up their plates and put them in the sink, covering them in soapy water and beginning to wash them. "Go get changed." he said, "I'll give you a lift over. It looks like it's going to rain."

Will went to his room and picked out his outfit of a grey sweater and blue jeans. He of course brought his signature body warmer that he loved.  
Throwing his clothes on, he went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth before grabbing his schoolbag and running to the door where Jonathan stood.

Just as he had said, it was raining like hell outside. They both ran to the car. Will made a joke about how he looked like a dragon when he breathed because of the cold air.  
Everything seemed to be fine, they sang along to songs in the car and Will danced in his seat as Jonathan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

That was until they pulled up to the school parking lot and Will got the same sick feeling in his stomach like everyday. It didn't help that his older brother parked right in front of the bike rack, where his three best friends were struggling to put their bikes into (as usual.)  
All three boys looked soaked in the rain. 

Will hesitated to get out of the car, his eyes on them.  
He opened the door, jumping out, his hands trembling. He thanked Jonathan and waved him goodbye.  
His friends greeted him with enthusiasm as they all ran into the school building, away from the rain.

"I was wondering where you were!" Mike smiled at him as he pulled his hood down and took off his soaking jacket.  
Will was still trembling, afraid to be around him. "Yeah. I got a lift."  
"Are you alright, Will?" Dustin asked, noticing the boy's shaking body, and the look of fear in his eyes.  
Will felt a lump in his throat. He didn't look at Mike. Usually he could pretend to be okay but after his dream, all of the previous emotions came back and he was fearful and heartbroken. He couldn't pretend no matter how hard he tried.  
"Yeah." he choked out. "I-I need some time. I'll see you guys in class."  
He rushed off to the bathroom. He heard Mike shout his name. Lucas grabbed onto Mike's arm. "Let him go." he said quietly.

The three boys watched as Will was swallowed up by the crowd in the corridor and they could no longer see him. 

Will entered the bathroom. Nobody had come in yet. He splashed some water in his face. "Don't cry, don't cry." he repeated in his head.

He didn't, though it was really hard not to. Maybe he could go to sick bay and ask to go home. Hopper had told the principal that he was to be let out of school if things were too stressful. Will hadn't asked to be let out just yet, and he didn't want to abuse his power.  
Jonathan and his mom were both working today. He didn't want to be a burden on them and take them out of work but anytime that he thought of seeing Mike's face again he felt physically sick.

Just as if his day couldn't get any worse, Troy entered the bathroom. Immediately spotting Will leaning over the sink, he laughed. "Oh look. We have little gay Byers over here. You, skipping class? I'd never of thought."  
Will panicked. Had class already started? Was he too trapped in his thoughts to hear the bell?

He said nothing, moving towards the door but Troy blocked his way. He shoved Will, and the significantly smaller boy let out an "Oomph!" of pain. He hit one of the stall's doors, falling backwards into it and landing on the floor.  
Troy laughed, and he kicked Will on the side. Will let out a cry.  
"What a queer." he said and spat on Will.  
Just as Will braced himself for another kick, Mike opened the door to the bathroom.

"Will!" he shouted, running over and grabbing Troy. He shoved him into a wall.  
"Get the fuck off me, Wheeler!" Troy yelled, pushing the lanky boy away and taking a swing at him.

Troy's fist met with Mike's cheek and he staggered in pain. With a new found strength, he swung at Troy, hitting him square in the jaw.

Troy let out a yelp and Mike grabbed him by the shirt, pushing him back into the wall.

Will had gotten up and limped over to Mike. He pulled his friend off the bully and held him back.  
Mike was still seething, his eyes focused on Troy. He clearly still wanted to hurt him. He pushed against Will, his chest puffing out and breathing heavily. His hands were balled into fists at his sides.

Troy put his hand to his lip, wiping it and finding that he was bleeding. "You bastard!" he shouted and lunged at Mike, tossing Will aside. Will felt useless as he crashed onto the floor. He wasn't big enough. "No!" his voice cracked.

He lunged himself between the fighting boys again, trying to separate them. This time he got a firm hold on Mike. Troy tried to attack Will for getting in the way, but he kicked him in the nuts fairly hard.  
Troy squeaked and leaned over.

Will spoke with a new confidence. "I won't tell that you kicked me if you don't tell on Mike for defending me."  
Mike was still ready to go again, but he relaxed as Will spoke.

Troy nodded in pain, and ran from the bathroom.  
Mike sighed in exhaustion and leaned against the sink. He had a bruise forming under his eye.

Will looked at him in worry. His hand clutched his side from where he was kicked. His head hurt from it hitting the ground. "Thank you for defending me." he said quietly.

"Thank you for holding me back." Mike said.

The two boys sat in silence. "Do you want to go home?" Mike spoke up. He knew that his friend was allowed to leave if he needed to. 

Will nodded. He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. There was so many things that he wanted to say right now. "I'm sorry if I scared you." Mike said, turning and seeing that Will was crying.

Will nodded, accepting his friend's apology. 

They stood there for a while. Will looking to the floor, and Mike not looking away from him.

After a while, Mike breathed out. "I..." he swallowed. "I should get back to -uh. Class."

Will nodded again, saying nothing. He wiped a tear away with his sleeve.

Mike left in silence, and Will practically ran to the front desk. He was let out and waited outside for Jonathan.

Soon enough, the old car rolled up in the driveway and Jonathan jumped out, making a B-line for his little brother. He pulled him into a hug, and Will winced quietly because of his sore ribs.

Jonathan didn't ask for Will to explain. Will came home and went straight to sleep. He didn't go to the Wheelers' that night.

Later, he awoke to a crackling in his walkie talkie. He picked it up, listening.

"Will? Are you there? It's us." Will's heart filled with dread. It was Dustin. They were obviously trying to contact him to see where he was.  
A tear rolled down his cheek and he turned it off, trying his best to go back to sleep. 

A little while later he gave up, walking into the bathroom that was across the hall, as he did, he heard talking from the front door.  
Dashing behind the door of his bedroom, he listened.  
"I don't know if it would be best for you to visit him today," he heard Joyce say, "Jonathan told me he was really upset earlier."  
Shit. It was the boys.  
"I know, I was there." He heard Mike say and his heart lurched, "I want to know if he is okay. I just want to check that everything is alright."  
Joyce sighed, he heard her move and the three boys walk down the hall. Will panicked and hid under his covers right as the boys entered his room.  
"Will!" Lucas said, as Will sat up. He pulled the boy into a tight hug. "We were so worried."  
He hugged his friend back. Looking over Lucas' shoulder, he spotted Mike.  
The dark haired boy had his eyes glued to him, not looking away. Lucas let go, and Will couldn't contain himself. He burst into tears and ran into Mike's arms.

Mike didn't seem shocked. He only held his friend tightly and didn't let go. Will felt him shudder in his chest, and it took him a moment before he realised that Mike was also crying. They stood there for a moment, not letting each other go.

There was silence, and then Dustin spoke up. "Do I not get a hug?"  
Will laughed through his tears and hugged Dustin.  
They spent the rest of the night talking and complaining about how mean Troy was. The entire time, Mike was sitting right next to Will, their legs touching. And Will wasn't afraid of being around him anymore.


	6. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A request from a lovely reader :)
> 
> The two boys get in a fight.  
> Kinda sad.

Requested fic.

\--

Mike was cycling home. He was crying. He didn't know why, he was beyond angry. 

He felt it in his chest and throat. A fiery sensation of pure destructivness clouded his vision. Fuck. He couldn't stop crying.  
Pulling over at the edge of the road, he jumped off his bike. Throwing it to the ground, he let out a yell of pure frustration.

He collapsed to his knees and sat down, running his hands over his face and whimpering quietly. Then he thought of her. He let out another scream and punched the road, not caring that the soft skin on his hands were now cut and bleeding.

"How could he?" he said aloud, looking up at the moon that shone crystal light over the small town.  
At the back of his head he was thinking rationally. He thought that his outburst at Will was ridiculous. It was embarrassing that he shouted at him in his own house.  
Why did he care if he had a girlfriend? Why was he so uncontrollably jealous?

He knew he should of left early before he made an outburst. He shouldn't of just sat there at let it happen.  
Mike had been quiet for a while. They were sitting in a circle and talking.  
Will announced his relationship while Dustin and Lucas patted him on the back and congratulated him. Mike said nothing.  
He didn't say anything for a while. And then Will asked him what was wrong.  
"What's wrong?" Mike exploded, "What's wrong is that you'll abandon us all now that you're with this girl!"

The group had been taken aback. Mike could feel an anger as red as fire boiling inside him.

Lucas was the first to respond. "You can't say anything Mike! Whenever you were with Eleven you practically forgot about us!"  
Will looked hurt. But when he heard Lucas' comment, his face twisted into something that Mike had never seen in the small boy. Determination.  
"Why does it matter to you if I'm in a relationship?" Will had said sternly.

It was at that moment that Mike realised how ridiculous he was being. He got even more angry at this, and he stood up and left.

"Hey, Mike!" Dustin had called after him. "Where are you going, man?"  
Mike ignored him and left. Joyce had asked him if everything was okay as he passed her but he said nothing and ran out the door.

Mike had calmed down a bit now. He had regulated his breathing. His adrenaline rush over, he began to feel the cuts on his knuckles and winced in pain. He watched as blood trickled down his fingers.  
At the back of his mind he panicked. It had been hardwired into him that blood = Demogorgon. He reassured himself that the monster wasn't alive anymore. Eleven took care of that. 

He began to cry then. Loud sobs echoed out into the darkened road. He couldn't stop.  
He was fully aware how stupid this all was. He blew it way out of porportion. He didn't know why.  
Will's question stuck in his head. "Why does it matter to you if I'm in a relationship?"  
He couldn't answer that question. He didn't know the answer.

He brought his knees up to his face and coated his jeans with wet tears. "Shit." he whispered.  
He wouldn't be able to look his friends in the eye again. It was beyond embarrassing.  
He felt cold. He quickly realised that he left his jacket at the Byers' place.

He sat there for a while. Unmoving. Eventually he got up, shaking. His bare arms had goosebumps all over them. Rubbing them slightly to try and keep them warm, he breathed out and watched as his hot breath froze in the cold December air.

He felt bad for shouting at Will. His friend had been through so much in the past month.  
Hopping on his bike, he continued to cycle, wincing as the cuts on his knuckles stretched when he held onto the handlebars.

Just as he was picking up speed, he heard an echoing voice from behind him. Stopping his bike, he turned around to see a shining light approaching him. It was one of the boys.

As the light came closer, he made out a hat ontop of a crazy head of curls.  
"Hey Dustin." he said he came to a stop beside him.  
"You alright?" Dustin asked. He didn't look angry with him.

Mike thought for a moment. He looked to the ground, sighing. "I don't know what got into me."  
Dustin watched his friend carefully. He breathed out. "Look, it's ok. I brought your coat."

Mike smiled gratefully and took the jacket, putting it on and zipping it up. Dustin began to cycle slowly and Mike followed along beside him.  
"I think you'll need to apologise to Will." Dustin said absentmindly, as if he was planning in his head, "But you weren't all in the wrong. It was unfair for Lucas to poke at something so sensitive to you."

"No." Mike muttered, "I don't blame him. I was out of line."  
Dustin looked at his friend, concerned. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you care if Will is with someone? I'm not trying to start a fight with you by the way."  
Mike said nothing. He was slowly coming around to it, as he thought. He didn't want anyone else with Will because he was scared if loosing him again. He wanted to be with Will. It was wrong but it had been nagging at him for so long, and tonight he accepted how he felt. He liked him. A lot.  
"I don't know." Mike said in a response.

Dustin kept his eyes on the road. "You know, Mike." he sighed, "You are a terrible liar."

Mike looked at him in panic. He began to relax when he seen his friend smiling.  
Smiling to himself, he said, "Maybe."

They were in silence for a moment. Dustin spoke up, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"  
Mike nodded. "Sure."

They were quiet again.  
Mike thought to himself. If anyone, Dustin would be the most understanding. His uncle was gay.  
"I like Will."  
As he said those three words, he felt an entire galaxy lift off his shoulders. He felt so relieved. He felt like he could breathe properly after hiding for so long. He took a few deep breaths as if he had never experienced it before.

"I thought so." Dustin said. He wasn't disgusted or angry. "I'm glad you told someone."  
Mike nodded. "Me too."

They talked a while about the situation. Eventually they dropped it and moved onto chatting about normal things. Mike felt good. He was glad that Dustin didn't push anymore after that.

Mike struggled a lot with his sexuality. He was only a kid, in the 80s in a place filled with predjudice and homophobia. Not to mention, the AIDs apademic made everyone believe that being gay wasn't natural. He had been raised around this. On top of that, his mother and father were very traditional people.

Dustin turned a corner to his house and Mike shouted a goodbye to him.  
He began to stress. Dustin could tell Will. Or Lucas. Or his parents.  
Mike shook his head. No. He'd only had a bad night and his stress levels were high. Dustin would never do that.

He thought back on his outburst and cringed again. Will didn't deserve it. He was a good kid. He didn't do anything wrong to him, he never did in the entire time of their friendship.

He wondered if Will had ever been jealous when he talked about Eleven. If he ever thought that he had been replaced. 

He guessed that this was a role reversal. Mike knew how Will felt now. But Will was too kind to get angry unlike the Wheeler boy. 

Mike was terrified. He didn't want to see that girl. Didn't want her near him.  
What if she broke his heart?  
The dark haired boy felt a protectiveness cloud over him. She better not. He'd break her in return.

A tear rolled down his cheek. Why did this have to happen? Why did he have feelings for Will? Why couldn't he still be obsessed with Eleven?

He arrived home. He entered the house quietly, running up into his room before his mum could ask how his evening had been.  
He threw his bag to the side and took off his jacket.  
He stood by the door for a while, feeling numb.

Eventually Mike walked over to his bed, falling face first onto it.  
He let out a soft grunt as his face hit the pillow.

He could never face Will at school tomorrow. He could fake sick. His mom didn't always fall for it, so if she didn't he could just skip like that time with Eleven.

He missed her a lot. There had been a funeral for her, everyone attended. Even Chief Hopper.

Trapped in his thoughts, he barely realised that Lucas had been talking to him through his walkie talkie. Mike grabbed it and listened.

"Mike please pick up. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to pick on the Eleven subject." Lucas was talking quietly, clearly his parents didn't know that he was still awake.

"It's okay." Mike responded. He didn't feel anything. He felt empty and he didn't care anymore.

"What was with you shouting at Will?" Lucas inquired.

Mike sighed. He wasn't about to tell Lucas. One person knowing was enough for him at the moment. "I'm going to talk to Will about it at some point. I'd rather not think about it, I'm embarrassed."

"That's okay." Lucas was quiet.  
"Tonight has been a rough night." Mike observed. "It's my fault. I'm sorry I ruined it."

Lucas took a while to respond. "It's okay man. That's what friends do. We fight sometimes. It's only natural."

Mike nodded before realising that Lucas couldn't see him. "Is Will angry?"

"Confused." Lucas said and yawned, "Not angry. Confused and a little bit hurt. But you know Will. He always tries to understand where people sre coming from. Me and Dustin were really annoyed until Will got us to see it in a different light."

"Dustin was annoyed?" Mike asked; running his hands through his hair and mentally beating himself up.

"Yeah. He got mad when you stormed out. But he was okay after that. He even left early to go and talk to you." Lucas was whispering now.

Mike observed his cut knuckles absentmindly. The blood had dried now. "Yeah, he caught up to me. I was really grateful."

He heard Lucas yawn again. "I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you soon buddy."

"Goodnight man." Mike said, before putting his walkie talkie away. He didn't feel so bad now.

He was grateful to have Will around. Will always knew how to calm a storm or how to reassure everyone.

He would apologise to him. Hopefully things would go back to normal.

And if that girl hurt him, he would kick her ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REQUESTS ARE CLOSED UNTIL I GET AROUND TO THE ONES I HAVE


	7. Tranquility.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike hated Hawkins. But Will showed him how beautiful it could really be.
> 
> Based on the events after the demogorgon.

I have also made a video to go with this fic. You can find it on my channel: strangerpilot. https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=cCBYwTnFJ4Y   
Short chapter!  
Written in Mike's POV.

\--

Do you ever feel so empty and cold? Like nothing will ever cheer you up?  
That's how I felt. Alone. Even when I was surrounded by family and friends.  
For a while I had her. She was different. I liked that about her. She replaced him.

But she dissapeared. It was cold again.  
I seen everything in Black and White. There was no colour.  
I hated Hawkins. It was a dump, in my opinion. No light. No love. Just a small town with no way of getting out for kids like me who had big dreams.

I would visit him occasionally. Three times a week. It was sad at the start, I didn't like watching my friend breathe through a tube in his nose. But he always kept an upbeat smile on his face.  
Anytime I visited him I seen a bit of colour. It became addicting. I would leave school and go straight to the hospital, and he would always be there, smiling and waiting for me.

He made a good recovery. It was amazing to slowly watch him get better. He had his moments of doubt and misery, but I was there to help pick him up again.

We would go outside a lot more. We discovered new places in Hawkins that I had never seen before. Small beaches with sand that sunk under your feet as you walked.  
We looked behind us, fingers intertwined, watching the pair of footprints form in the yellow floor.

We stayed out late. We sat and watched the sun set together. Grand shades of orange and red, like the colour of his lips.

We cycled out to the middle of nowhere. We took his brother's camera with us and took photos.  
We made daisy chains in an empty field. He put one in my hair, and called me a flower boy.  
He insisted in carrying as many flowers as he could in his pockets to take home, and we would sit in my basement as I would watch him draw and print the flowers onto paper.

I was able to see light and colour again. I could see the gorgeous blues of the sky. The echoing darkness of the night. The radiant greens of the trees.

He became important to me. I didn't want to be anywhere else but with him. He made me feel alive. And I could see the colour forming in my grey fingertips. I could feel the colour and light flowing through me.  
He awakened me. Life was no longer dull. Hawkins was a beautiful place filled with adventure and undiscovered secrets.

His hand felt nice in mine. We never felt uncomfortable holding hands. Our friends felt that it was wrong, but I enjoyed it.

His hands weren't cold or silent. They were warm and buzzing with love and comfort. I felt like I was real when I touched them. I loved how it sent off sparks that soared through our fingers into our stomachs, where butterflies danced and shone beautiful shades of purple and blue.

He was afraid of going to Mirkwood. I understood why. He eventually came around to the idea of going, and we walked by the fence, running our hands over the wires. We knew what was in there but we never spoke of it. We were silent and enjoyed the presence of each other.

He meant more to me than anything. The tranquility that he gave me flowed through my veins and into my bloodstream. For once in my life I could feel my heart beating in my chest.

I loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are closed until I get around to the ones that i already have.


	8. Closer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike can't stay away from Will.
> 
> Requested fic.
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=jL8t4Qkda-A

Will was pretty.

I mean, I'm sure everyone knew he was pretty.   
He didn't have an issue with showing off his inner femininity either. He would let Eleven dress him up in pink dresses and experiment with make up if it kept her happy.

Mike found that when these things happened, he would watch his girlfriend fondly. At least he thought he was.

He began to catch himself staring at Will. When they were walking along the traintracks and talking. Or when it was summer and everyone gathered up and had a picnic under the trees. He couldnt take his eyes away from how pretty he was.

These looks didn't go unnoticed by Eleven. She of course got jealous, but wasn't sure how to communicate it. She didn't like her partner looking as someone else like that. So she would just prod him and give him a pouting look.

Mike was secretly thankful that Eleven didn't know how to talk about these things - as awful as it sounded. She could tell his parents. Or his friends. Especially Will.

Because of the lack of communication, jealousy began to build inside Eleven. She stopped learning how to do makeup with Will. She exclusively only practiced with Nancy.  
Whenever they were having picnics and she spotted Mike staring, she would use her powers to blow leaves into Will's face.  
She knew inside that it wasn't Will's fault that he was pretty. 

She didn't know what Will had and she didn't. What made him so special? Why did Mike have a sudden loss of interest in her? 

Mike didn't know the answer to any of these questions. Mike just found that whenever he was entranced by Will, he had an overwhelming urge to kiss him. He was confused. He didn't know why he had a crush on a boy. Maybe it was because of Will's feminine features. Or the fact that he was so small. Maybe if he waited a while it would go away. It had nothing to do with the fact that Will was a boy. He didn't like boys. 

So he waited. And it got worse. Since Eleven stopped dressing him up, Mike was more attracted to him in masculine clothing. And he found himself checking out other boys when he was out.  
This wasn't just a one time thing. Mike knew he wasn't straight.

-

Mike was out with Eleven on a date. She had reached out to hold his hand many times as they walked through the trees, but he kept pulling away, playing it off as if he was fixing his hair.

"Mike." she said at last, stopping in her tracks.

Mike stopped, turning to look at her. When he seen the face of upset she had, he looked down. He felt guilty.

"Why do you not want to hold my hand?" she asked quietly.  
Mike shut his eyes tight and ran his hands over his face, before reopening them. "It's.... I don't know."   
He felt ashamed. He didn't want to break her heart.

"Does Will have nicer hands than mine?" she almost whispered. She looked shattered.

"No!" Mike said and stepped towards her. He reached out and touched her hands. "You... You have lovely hands. It's just.. I'm struggling a bit lately. With our relationship." 

Eleven looked up into his eyes. "Will."

Mike looked down. He was still holding Eleven's hands in his own. "Y-Yeah."

Eleven took a step back, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Sorry."

Mike reached out to try and grab her hand again but she flinched. "You haven't done anything wrong, El. You're wonderful. One of the most amazing people I have met."

Eleven tilted her head slightly. She was incredibly confused. "Then why Will?" she wiped a tear away with her sleeve.

"I... It's not you. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm struggling with..." he took a deep breath, "my sexuality."

Eleven was even more confused. "Sexu- sexuality?"

Mike nodded, "It's who you like. If you like boys, or girls."

Eleven shook her head, indicating she still didn't understand.

Mike sighed, "You know. If you are attracted to boys or girls. Boys who like boys are called gay. Girls who like girls are called lesbians."  
He didn't know much about it, only the basics. 

"What about girls who.. Like boys?" Eleven had sat down on a fallen tree branch.

Mike sat down beside her. "They are called straight."

Eleven nodded. "I think I am straight."

Mike said nothing. He had no idea what he was. He didn't get the same feeling when he was with Eleven compared to when he was with Will.

Eleven sat in silence also, processing everything that Mike had just told her. She listened to the echoing tweeting of the birds.  
"So.." she picked up a stick, drawing a shape into the ground. "You feel that you are gay?"

Mike thought for a moment. "I'm still figuring that out." he watched as Eleven drew a bird into the ground.

"Is Will gay?" Eleven was focused on the drawing.

"He could be." Mike mumbled thoughtfully, running his hands through his hair.

Eleven dropped the stick carefully and turned to look at Mike. "So you can't like me?"

Mike looked into her eyes. He didn't want to leave Eleven. He still wanted to be best friends with her. "I can like you as a friend. Like before."

Eleven seemed okay with that. "Okay. It's not my fault."  
Mike nodded. "Right."

They were left in silence again. Eleven played with the hem of her new blue dress and Mike looked up at the trees.  
"Please don't tell anyone about this." Mike said, a pleading tone to his words.

Eleven turned to him, seeing fear written over his face. "Why are you afraid?"

Mike sighed. "Some people believe that it's bad to be gay." he rubbed his hands together, "If my mom found out, she would kick me out of the house."

A look of shock passed through her face. She knew that it probably wasn't wise for her to persist in asking. But she understood. Nodding, she said, "Promise."

 

The day after, Mike went to school. Eleven was still homeschooled. She was on nursery level, as she clearly wouldn't be capable of being thrown into a public school in the same class as the other kids.

On his way to school, Lucas caught up to him and cycled along side him. "Hey!" he said cheerfully, "How was your date with El yesterday?" he wiggled his eyebrows and made a kissing noise.

Mike grunted. "We broke up." he said bluntly, watching as Lucas' face twisted to shock.

"Oh god, I'm sorry man. I had no idea-"

"No." Mike interrupted, "I'm happy. We're still friends. Just... Things weren't working out. We're both happier now."

Lucas nodded slowly, "Holy crap. I totally thought you two would be in it to the end. Like marriage and shit." she crossed his fingers, "you two were like this. You two were tight."

Mike let out a long breath. "Yeah. Well we both figured out that we were just really good friends."

Lucas looked back to the road. "That's good. If you're happier now, good for you. I'm proud of you, that would of been tough to bring up. You know, after everything you and her had been through."

Mike nodded but said nothing. He knew Lucas was only trying to be sympathetic, but he just felt guiltier and guiltier by the minute.

"Would she even find anyone else?" Lucas let out a puff of air. "You know. You were the only one who understood how she communicated."

Mike shook his head. He felt like crap and tears were threatening to spill. "El has come a long way. She'll become more confident overtime and communicate better. It might even be good for her to talk to other people outside of me because she can learn more about how they speak." 

Lucas nodded. "True. I'm sorry man. I hope I didn't upset you."

Mike shook his head. "No. It's fine."

The two boys arrived at the school and found that Dustin and Will were waiting for them at the bike racks.

They put their bikes into the metal bars, and Dustin turned around to Mike and, as expected, started making kissing noises to him. "How was your date with Eleven?"

To his surprise, Lucas stood between them. "Lay off man. They broke up."

Dustin's mouth dropped. "No way! Holy shit!"  
Mike rolled his eyes.

Will, who had been leaning against the rack, stood up straight. "What, really?"

Mike nodded. "Don't ask me to explain. I already did to Lucas and it's too much effort to do it all over again."  
He didn't look at Will, in fear of seeing his pretty face all over again and loosing the air in his lungs.   
If Eleven noticed how he had looked at him - his other two friends would definitely notice as well. 

Lucas offered to explain, so he did. Mike just went along with it. He didn't really care as he followed the three boys into the school.

Every now and then, Will would look back and stare at Mike. Mike pretended not to noticed as he walked, staring straight forward with his hands in his pockets that were sweating a lot. His stomach was doing flips as Will looked at him.

Mike did something brave then. He looked back at Will, straight into his eyes.  
He didn't look away, and Will glanced away for a second in fear of getting caught. When he noticed that Mike kept his gaze, he locked eyes with him again. They could faintly hear Lucas talking about "He just wanted to be friends with her."

Sudden realization hit Will in the stomach and his eyes widened. Mike silently worried that he had gone too far by keeping eye contact for so long, but Will slowed down to walk beside him. They broke eye contact. Will's hand brushed against Mike.  
Mike swallowed, closing his eyes. He took his hand out of his pocket at let it rest by his side, feeling it brush against the smaller boy's one.

Beside him, he heard Will let out a long breath of relief. Neither boy said anything. But they both knew how they felt. Mike felt like he wanted to jump and dance. So Will was gay. He was overwhelmed with good emotions and he pressed the back of his hand into Will's own.   
Will returned the gesture, pressing the back of his hand to Mike's. 

Suddenly Dustin and Lucas turned around and their hands relaxed by their sides.  
"Did I get every detail?" Lucas asked.

Mike nodded. He had no idea what Lucas had said but it was good enough for him. "Yes. Thank you Lucas."

Lucas responded with a "No problem." and turned back around. 

Mike looked to Will then. And Will looked up back at him. The two boys shared a smile of knowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So this was a requested fic, I had no inspiration on how to write it though. 
> 
> A youtuber I follow uploaded her cover of Closer and honestly it gave me butterflies and made me think of how Mike felt towards Will. I immediately had to stop everything I was doing and open up AO3 and let out that burst of inspiration. 
> 
> I will probably make a video to go with this fic as well - though at the moment I need to work on a Q&A that I have up and running.  
> Also thank you to everyone from AO3 that has subscribed to my channel and stuff! I gained 15 subs overnight which blew my mind and the video I made for the Tranquility fic is doing very well and you guys seem to really like it so thank you. The link to the cover is in the chapter summary as it won't let me put it here :(


	9. Homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested fic.
> 
> Will helps Mike with his homework, but Mike can barely focus when the other boy is so close to him.
> 
> (I also took inspiration off of the homework scene in Dream Boy - a gay movie based in the 50s.)

Mike was struggling really badly in Maths. He was awful at it. 

He wasn't like Dustin, Lucas or Will. They were good at several different subjects. Mike was only good at one.

Science.

He knew that he ought to just study more, like his mom said over and over when he got bad grades.  
Or find different ways to learn the subjects like his teachers said. They said that different students learn differently and at different paces.  
His friends told him to get a tutor. Lucas got one, and he said that it was the best thing he ever did.

He tried all of these things. None of them worked.  
He asked his mom to get him a tutor. She agreed, but told him that Nancy could tutor him.  
Mike refused that pretty quickly.

He tried to study more, but it didn't work. The letters and numbers seemed to swim across the pages like water. He couldn't keep his focus no matter what he tried.

He tried to find different ways of learning. But he found that none of them worked.   
Mike gave up. He just figured that he would never achieve anything. He would just grow up and become a scientist or something.

He was in Math. It was a Tuesday. Also his least favorite day of the week because they had a double lesson.

The class was loud. Everyone was doing paired work. He was with Dustin. 

Mike had given up. He sat at his desk next to his curly haired friend, one arm propped up on his elbow. 

Dustin had tried to motivate him. "Look, we've only got three questions left. You're doing great."

Mike had shaken his head. Dustin was always the good one with Mathematics.  
Mike furrowed his eyes at the shared paper.

He didn't understand any of it. It was futile.  
He sighed, leaning back in his chair.   
Dustin mumbled an "It's okay." and continued on with the work.  
This wasn't the first time this had happened between the two boys. Dustin was used to it by now. He didn't try to push his friend to do anything that made him stressed.

Mike looked up from his desk, looking to the right where Lucas and Will were working.  
Both boys were smiling. Will stuck his tounge out as he furiously wrote something down onto paper, handing it to Lucas who checked it for him. He let out a "That's it!" and high fived his friend.

Mike didn't think much of it. Then Lucas put his arm on Will's back, rubbing and patting it in a form of saying congratulations.

Mike felt a pang of jealousy in his chest and he glared at Lucas.  
"Mike?" Dustin snapped him out of his thoughts and he whirled his head around to his concerned friend.

"Yeah?" Mike asked, startled to be back in the real world.

Dustin shook his head, "I thought you were going to murder Lucas with that look. You looked like Eleven." he let out a breath of laughter.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up." Dustin raised his eyebrows at him, "I just have a resting bitch face." he added.

Dustin's expression didn't change but he decided not to challenge the other boy.   
"Right..." he said sarcastically, turning his attention back to the work.

The lesson dragged on, and Mike didn't look at Will and Lucas again in fear of what he would see.   
The class ended which signalled the end of the day.   
All four boys gathered up their books, Dustin taking especially long as usual, so they were the last to leave the class.

Just as they were about to leave, the teacher called Mike to her desk. He looked at the others, confused.  
"Wait outside for me?" Mike asked hopefully.

The three boys nodded and cleared out of the room.  
Mike wandered over to her desk.  
"Michael," she stated, "I think we both know from your work today that none of the options we have tried have worked."  
Mike breathed out. "No, ma'am."

She nodded, standing up. The tall lady lifted a file on her desk, looking through it and taking out a paper. "Try this for me tonight. If you don't do well, I'm afraid I'll have to lower you a class. I don't know if you are capable for this level of Math."  
She held out the paper to him. 

He took it, scanning his eyes over it. "But we haven't studied this yet."  
The teacher nodded. "Yes, but the tactics that I have taught you in this class would have prepared you on how to find a way to do it."

Mike shook his head in disbelief. It hardly seemed fair. Dropping a class meant that he would be in lower. Troy was in that class. He thought of Troy taunting, throwing paper at his head and drawing all over his work. He swallowed.  
"I won't let you down, ma'am." he said quietly, not believing himself. 

He left the class briskly, paper held tightly in his hand.

"Mike? You alright?" Lucas looked concerned.   
The panic must of been clear in his face.

Mike nodded slowly. He thought for a second. "No, hell no I'm not okay. If I don't do well in this paper, she'll put me in Troy's class."

The three boy's eyes flew wide open in shock.   
"What?" Will looked angry and confused. "Why would she do that? She's seen him taunt us in the corridors."

Dustin tried to keep the light on things. "Guys, guys. Chill. I'm sure the questions are not that hard. It should be okay, and Mike should pass." he took the sheet from his friend, reading over it quickly.   
"Oh ok. Screw that. We haven't even learned this yet." Dustin looked at his friend apologetically.

"That's exactly what I said!" Mike exclaimed.

Will muttered something then, that startled the others. "What a bitch."

The three boys whirled around. "Did Will just cuss?" Lucas looked between Will, who had his arms folded and looked particularly grumpy, and the other two boys.

"Hell yeah I did!" Will threw his arms up and let them fall to his sides, "It's not fair! She knows that he'll be bullied!" 

Mike looked at Will sideways. He had never seen the small boy give off such a burst of anger. "Screw this." he whispered, scrunching up the paper and throwing it in the bin.

"What the shit man!" Dustin said, "That's your only chance of staying!"

It was too late. Mike already took off down the hall. He got outside and jumped on his bike, cycling off in the rain, hearing the distant shouts of his three friends.

\--

Mike arrived at his house. He had been crying. His mum didn't notice, as he was soaking from the rain. She told him to get a bath so that he didn't have a cold.   
Mike had nodded silently, running up the stairs and running a bath. He sat there on the floor, not bothering to take off his soaking cold clothes as he watched the tub fill with steaming liquid.

Soon enough it was ready and he stepped into it, sucking in a breath of air as the hot water overwhelmed his cold skin. 

He didn't know how long he was in there. He didn't think of anything. He was relaxed the entire time. That was until there was a loud bang of thunder outside. He gasped, jumping out of his daydream. 

He sighed, sitting upright and running his hands over his face. He got out and dried himself off. He crossed the hall and went to his room, where he changed into a pair of pj bottoms and an old white t shirt.  
He was just taking a comb to his tangled hair when he heard the echoing voice of his mom.   
He sighed, throwing the comb to the side as he ran down the stairs. What greeted him was a terribly wet Will Byers, taking his coat and soaking shoes off at the door.

"Hey, Will." He greeted the other boy.

Will looked up, and spotted Mike who had stopped on the stairs. "Hey." he smiled. "I-I-I know you probably didn't want to see this after today, but I'd be happy to help you with it. I looked it over and I think I understand it now."

Will pulled out a terribly crumpled page from his pocket. He had clearly tried to neaten it up, it was folded nicely and looked like he tried to flatten it. But the page was still clearly not what it used to be.

Mike sighed in relief. "That was stupid earlier. Thank you for bringing it. Come on up." he motioned for Will to follow him as he went up the stairs.

The two boys went into Mike's room and sat down.   
"I don't think it was stupid." Will said after a moment of silence.

"You don't?" Mike looked to his friend, who shook his head.

"It's only expected. If someone treats you badly for no reason, of course you're going to react badly in response." Will folded out the paper and lay it on the desk. 

Mike thought for a moment. "You're right." he said quietly, almost inaudible.

Will shimmied closer to Mike so that he could get a good view of the sheet. He pointed to the question and began to explain.

Mike found that he couldn't focus at all. Less than he could when he was at Math and Dustin was trying to help him.

Will was so close to him. Every now and then his arm brushed off his. His voice sounded sweet, but the words coming from it made no sense to him. Mike wasn't even looking at the paper anymore. He was looking directly at Will, and all of the features of him. His cute button nose. His beautiful eyes. The moles on his neck and above his lips. His slightly damp hair. His beautifully clear skin.

Will turned to Mike. "So do you get what-" he stopped. He looked directly at Mike, loosing his breath. Had Mike always been this close? Or had Mike inched closer to him?

Both boys said nothing. They sat there, unable to breath, gazing at each other.   
Something was screaming at Will in his head. This wasn't supposed to be happening. His dad always called him a fag and he wanted to prove him wrong so badly. But now, when he couldn't tear his eye's away from Mike, he began to doubt everything in his head.

He couldn't feel anything. All he could feel was the heart beat racing in his chest as Mike inched closer. He could feel the butterflies erupting in his stomach.   
He was paralysed, unable to move, his hand still pointing at a question on the paper, now forgotten.

Their lips met. It was slow and sweet. They pulled back slowly, not breaking eye contact.

Mike let out a breath of air and smiled, looking down. Will did the same, able to use his lungs again.

Will could barely speak, but managed to whisper. "Did we just-"

"Y-yeah. Are you okay?" Mike looked up.

Will nodded, faster than he had ever nodded in his life. "Yeah. Are you?"

Mike smiled. "Yeah.

The two boys looked at each other for a while again.   
"Right.. Uh." Mike turned to the sheet. "I have no idea what you just told me. Could you explain again?"

Will laughed. "That's okay. Sure."

Will began to explain the paper again, and for once, Mike was able to keep his focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I'm moving school soon. 
> 
> Also I just want to thank you all for your lovely comments. You all make me so happy and it brightens my day a lot when I see you guys appreciating my work.  
> You keep me going. So thank you!


	10. Fucking Hell, You Look Cute.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Will have been in a secret relationship, one year after the events of the demogorgon.

"Fucking hell, you look cute." Mike whispered in Will's ear as he passed him.

Will's stomach flipped, and he turned to look at Lucas and Dustin, who were busy setting up a campfire with Nancy and Jonathan.

Nobody noticed. Will had a blanket wrapped around him, holding it close to his face. He did feel cute and squishy right now.  
But he was going to bug Mike for using such an offensive word later.

He smiled to himself and blushed, bringing his knees up to his chin as he sat on one of the logs that was positioned around the fire.  
None of them wanted to be here. But Joyce and Mrs Wheeler was really set on the idea that the four boys and the two monster hunters would have a weekend away camping as a breather from life.

Dustin let out a cheer as the sticks burned a grand shade of orange. He began to do a dance around it, much to Lucas' dismay. "Stop! It's dangerous!" he tried to complain, but it was silenced by Will's giggles.

Lucas shook his head, trying to look as serious as possible. "You shouldn't encourage him."   
No one could deny the fond smile he had on his face, though.

Mike returned from his small trip to Jonathan's car. He had some tins and a few pots in his hands. "Really? Beans?" he gave Nancy a look.

Nancy looked offended. "Uh, what's the sarcasm for? It was all they had at the store!"

"Aw hell yeah!" Dustin stopped his dancing and took the beans from Mike's hands. "I frickin' love beans."

Lucas scrunched his face up. "I'm not sleeping next to Dustin. I don't want to be gassed by his bean farts in my sleep."

Jonathan laughed. "It's fine Lucas. We'll get you a mask."

Dustin turned and gave a look to Jonathan and Lucas. "No one is safe."

Mike placed the pots on the ground near the fire, and sat down next to Will, smiling at him.  
Will smiled back, and unwrapped himself from his burrito - blanket state, offering to drape it around Mike's shoulders.  
Mike nodded gratefully, and the two boys shared the blanket happily.

"I swear, sometimes I really think you two are queer." Lucas mumbled, earning a glare from Nancy.

Will felt a pang of hurt in his chest. "Ouch." he said aloud.  
Mike turned to look at him, intertwining their fingers underneath the blanket and rubbing soothing circles with his thumb onto the smaller boy's skin.  
Will didn't look at him, in fear of being "too queer" in front of everyone again and raising more suspicion. He squeezed Mike's hand in return though.

"Don't be an asshole, Lucas." Dustin cracked open a tin, pouring the beans into one of the pots and placing it over the fire. 

The conversation changed then, to whatever small talk came between the group.  
Will was still hurt, but pretended that nothing was wrong, for he was worried he and Mike's relationship would be discovered.

Everyone finished their food fairly quickly, before Jonathan announced the boys should all go to bed. 

There were three tents, each capable of holding two people. They were circled around the fire.

Nancy came across a problem. "How will we all get changed?"  
Silence fell across the group and they all looked rather confused.  
"Take turns going into the tents to change. No big deal." Mike shrugged his shoulders as the group nodded in agreement.

Will went into his and Mike's shared tent first. He changed quickly before climbing out and finding Lucas and Mike talking. Mike looked angry.   
When the two boys heard Will leave the tent, they whipped their heads around.

"All yours." Will said weakly, holding the tent open for Mike to climb in. He sat opposite Lucas. 

He felt sick. Did something bad happen?  
"Will, I'm changed. You can come in now."

Will turned around and nodded, moving to climb into the tent. He stopped and turned, seeing Lucas' suspicious eyes glued to him.  
Lucas raised his eyebrows and sighed, turning to go into his own tent.

Will entered the tent, climbing under the blankets and cuddling deep into them.

Silence. There was movement outside, and the sound of Jonathan stomping out the weakened fire could be heard. Silence again.

"Mike..?" Will whispered.

Mike turned around, casting his eyes over his partner's face, which was illuminated a shade of blue in the moonlight. "Hm?"

"What happened between you and Lucas?" Will breathed, reaching out to ghost his hand over Mike's own.

Mike frowned and reached out, wiping a stray hair away from Will's face. "I told him to stop bullying us."

A lump formed in Will's throat. "He was staring at me when I went into the tent. He looked....suspicious. He could find out."

Mike shook his head and shimmied himself a bit closer to his boyfriend. "No. He won't." he said reassuringly, "He's just being Lucas. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes."

Will smiled sadly. "A bit?"

Mike sighed. "I know. It's just... He wasn't raised in the most accepting of households, you know? You can only hope that he will grow up and mature and develop his own views."

Will thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah. I agree. We can't blame him. It's not his fault."

Mike smiled, pulling Will closer to him.  
The smaller boy buried his face in the dark haired boy's neck. 

"Will?" Mike whispered finally.   
Will hummed, almost asleep.

"I -" he swallowed, "I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you. A lot. You know?"

Will smiled. "I love you too."

Mike's heart stopped and he took a deep breath, pulling his boyfriend even closer to him.   
He grinned. "That's... That's good."

"Goodnight Mike." Will mumbled.

Mike sighed. "Goodnight Will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im backkkkk (sorry its short...)


	11. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike comes out to his parents, but the result was bad.

Requested fic  
-

Mike can barely remember getting on his bike and cycling down the road, tears staining his cheeks and clouding his vision. 

The last thing he remembers is the look of dissapointment in his mother's eyes. 

He let out a loud sob. He could barely see where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get to Will. Will, the boy who brightened up his life. Will, his first love. 

The next thing he knew, there was a car approaching him at full speed. And then he was swerving. Swerving and falling off his bike, crashing into a bush.  
"Kid, are you alright?" he heard a familiar voice from behind him.  
His head hurt. His nose was bleeding. He wanted nothing more than to die. 

Turning around, he seen a tall figure. Hopper.   
He clearly seen that Mike had been crying. His hair was a mess; wether that had been from the fall or from crying, neither of them knew. His eyes were a bloodshot red, they were puffy and sore. His lips were bright red and he was shaking uncontrollably.   
"Oh god, Mike." Hopper jogged up to the boy, leaning down and putting an arm on his shoulder. "We need to get you home. Are you hurt?"

Mike shook his head. The pain in his heart was more unbearable compared to the pain in his bleeding nose. "You can't take me home!" he choked out and sobbed. 

Hopper looked at the boy, unsure what to do. "I can't leave you out here like this."

Mike ran his hands through his hair, trying to gather himself. "I-" he sniffed, "I need to get to Will's."

Hopper nodded. He knew Joyce very well. She was a good mother figure, and perhaps they could find out what happened with her. He helped the boy to his feet and into the car. He then picked up Mike's bike and put it in the back.

Soon enough, they reached the Byers' household. Mike had calmed down to the best of his ability, a tissue held to his nose. He still cried quietly, but he wasn't sobbing uncontrollably like before. 

Hopper got out of the car first. Mike followed him soon after. 

After waiting for a minute at the door, Jonathan answered it. Immediately his happy face turned to worry as he saw Hopper and Mike.  
"Can we come in?" Hopper said as a greeting. Jonathan nodded, before calling out to Joyce.  
"Mom! Hopper and Mike are here!"

Will, who had been sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by crayons and paper, whipped his head up. He immediately spotted his boyfriend and his face flashed with worry. 

Joyce and Jonathan were aware of Will and Mike's relationship, and were fine with it. Joyce wanted nothing more from her son than to be happy, and Jonathan said that he never understood how there is a God in the sky that gets to decide what is right and what is wrong. "We were given free will for a reason, right?"

Will jumped up, rushing towards Mike. "Are you alright? What happened?" he placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, rubbing it soothingly.  
At the feel of Will's soft touch, Mike's eyes spilled with tears again and he closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. 

"Give him some space, kid." Hopper nodded to Will, who looked hurt.   
Mike wanted nothing more than for Will to stay as close as he was, to rub his shoulder soothingly, and to hold his hands but since Hopper was here, he had to go with whatever he said to avoid suspicion.   
Will knew this and took a step back, and Mike felt cold without him.   
Joyce entered the room. "Oh my god, what happened?" she spotted Mike, who was still holding a bloody tissue to his nose.

Hopper shook his head. "Not sure. Wouldn't let me take him home. Said he needed to come here."   
Joyce's face changed to an unreadable expression. "Okay. Thank you for bringing him here, I'll talk to him."

Hopper looked confused. "You don't want me to say? I picked the boy up off the street."

Joyce nodded. "I think it's about some personal things. It would be best if we talked about it alone."

The chief stood for a moment. He still looked confused, but he left. "See you later, Joyce."

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Mike felt Jonathan's, Will's and Joyce's hands move to him comfortingly. He felt so overwhelmed with love that he burst into tears again. Joyce led him over to the couch and sat him down. Will sat next to him, his arm around him and hugging him tightly. Mike did nothing but hug him back.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Joyce asked in a quiet soothing voice.  
Mike choked up another sob. "I- I told my parents." 

Although it was vague, everyone in the room immediately understood what Mike was trying to say. Will shimmied up closer to him so their legs were now touching. He had his arm around Mike's shoulders and pulled Mike into him.   
Mike breathed out, burying his face in Will's chest and sighing, breathing in his scent.

Jonathan went to the kitchen to get him a cup of hot cocoa. Joyce rested her hand on Mike's knee, repeating "It's okay."

Mike began to relax. Will petted his almost black hair, and he sighed in contentment. He always felt like the Byers were a second family to him.  
"I-I'm sorry for freaking out."

"Don't apologize." Will whispered and kissed Mike's cheek.

"You don't need to be sorry," Joyce said. "I'm sure that was rough. Karen and Ted don't exactly have the most open of minds."

Jonathan returned to the room with several cups of cocoa for everyone. He handed one to Mike, and Mike took it gratefully, moving away from his hug with Will. 

Mikr recited the events to them carefully, explaining how he didn't mean to come out. He said that he had been talking about Will coming over later. Instead he accidentaly said "my boyfriend", which you could imagine, sparked a lot of questions. He managed to convince them that this "boyfriend" he talked about was none of the four boys, so that they wouldn't be able to separare him from Will.

"What about Nancy?" Jonathan asked quietly.  
Mike shook his head. "I'm not sure. She only came downstairs when she heard me leaving."

Mike then told them about how he had cycled along the road and ended up swerving into bushes, where he hurt his nose. Then Hopper found him and brought him to Will's place.

After he had finished, Mike breathed out slowly. "You're very brave." Joyce smiled.

"He is, isn't he?" Jonathan agreed, "That must have been scary."

Will stayed quiet, head resting on Mike's shoulder, a hand rubbing circles into his back.  
"If you ever need a place to stay, we're here." Joyce nodded comfortingly. "I know it's not easy growing up in a home where you don't feel loved."

Mike wanted to ask her how she knew, but he decided not to. He concluded that she was referencing this "Lonnie" that Will sometimes spoke of.

"Thank you." Mike breathed. He felt calm now. He felt guilty for taking up the Byers' time, but he also felt so loved and accepted. He never wanted to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REQUESTS ARE NOW OPEN AGAIN! 
> 
> Also I want to thank everyone that has been a part of this fanfiction/my videos. Honestly I'm so grateful for your support, I love the Byler community so much because it is small and loveable and everyone is so nice and accepting. 
> 
> I'm glad I can be a part of it!


	12. Nancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation from the last chapter - short.

Requested fic  
-

Mike wanted to stay at Will's house for the night. But he couldn't.  
"Your parents will be worried sick!" Joyce had told him.  
Mike didn't believe her if he was honest. In his head, the only thing that he could possibly think his parents would be worrying about was who got to have his old room.  
Mike felt that he could never go back home. He would be hated. Unloved.

"I can walk you home." Will said gently.  
Mike shook his head. It was pitch black outside. He knew how afraid Will was of the dark. Even though he wanted nothing more than a long walk and conversation with him, he couldn't bare the thought of Will shivering in fear walking back from Mike's house alone.

Jonathan offered to give him a ride.  
"They'll see your car. And they'll know I was at your house. They'll know about Will."  
Jonathan gave an unreadable glance to Joyce; who nodded.

"It's okay, Mike. Jonathan can park his car a bit down the road and let you get out." Will was still rubbing his back, reassuring his boyfriend to the best of his ability.

In Mike's pain, he felt frustrated with Will. Why was he not on his side? He knew what his parents were like. So why was he so eager to send him home?  
At the back of his mind, he was thinking rationally. Obviously here would be one of the places to check when looking for Mike. It wouldn't be too long until his parents showed up and told him to get home. Plus his dad would probably ban him from seeing Will ever again if he found out that he ran here.

Mike said nothing and stood up. "Can... Can I talk to Will for a minute?" he breathed out and added "Alone."

Jonathan nodded and left, Joyce following after him. "Be quick."she said.

Mike walked towards the front window, running his hands over his face and his hair. "I feel sick." 

Will watched him from where he sat. Mike had blue jeans on, as usual. He was wearing his favourite polo shirt that Will bought him for Christmas one year. It was red and white and had striped across the chest. Mike wore it as often as he could. It was tucked into his jeans waist as usual.  
Will noticed that Mike didn't bring a coat in the hurry of leaving his house.  
His hair fell back into place even when he ran his hands through it. Everything seemed so normal. He looked just like Will's old Mike on the outside. But on the inside it was something completely different.

He wasn't Will's goofy and awkward boyfriend now. He was in pain and angry and felt a million emotions at once. Will wanted nothing more than to fix it all for him, but Will had barely enough strength to fix himself nevermind everyone else. He tried his best though, every day of his life.

Will stood up. He couldn't fix Mike's pain, but he could at least make it less of a weight to carry alone.  
He moved towards him. Mike turned around and took a step forward.

Just as Will was about to say something, Mike kissed him. It wasn't the first time they kissed, but it startled him. It didn't feel the same. It felt urgent. Like Mike was absolutely terrified. And he was.

Mike couldn't bear the thought of being without Will. His mind flashed back to that night when they pulled his body from the water. He remembered the shock. Then came the realisation. Then disbelief. And then it all came raining down on him. Everything; gone in an instant. No more Will. He loved Will more than anything, and he missed his chance. All he remembered was shouting at Eleven through clouded eyes of tears. Everything else he tried his best to forget.

And then they heard him through the radio.  
"It's like home! But it's so dark! It's so dark and empty and it's cold! Mom!"

Hearing Will's voice in that much pain hurt him so badly. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to him, but it was impossible. It was like loosing him all over again.

So Mike kissed him. He kissed him with as much passion as he could because he knew that if he didn't he could loose him again. He didn't want to stand by and watch Will slip through his fingertips like sand. 

Mike pulled back slowly. "I love you." Tears rolled down his face.

Will had never heard him say that before. "...I love you too."

Joyce opened the door and signalled to Mike that it was time to go.

-

Mike arrived late. The lights were all off in the house, suprisingly.  
He moved to the front door. Just as he was about to open it, he heard a "pssst!" from Nancy's window.  
Mike walked back so that he could see her. She motioned for him to come into her room.

Mike nodded and ran up to the wall. He had walked Steve climb up the wall before, it couldn't be that hard. If that big idiot could do it, so could he. He was a bit more agile.

He made it into Nancy's room as silently as he could.  
Nancy looked at him and sat on the bed.  
Mike stood awkwardly in her room, not really knowing what to say.  
"....Do you know about-"  
"Yes." Nancy stated. She had an unreadable expression on her face.

Mike felt unbelievably overwhelmed. "They told you?"  
Nancy shook her head. "I stood at the top of the stairs and listened."

"And... How do you feel about it?" Mike asked. He was shaking. He didn't know if that was because he was freezing or if it was because he was nervous.

Nancy was silent. "I.... I'm not sure Mike. I need a bit of time to think about it, okay? But I don't hate you for it. I just don't really understand it. I'm not like mom or dad though."

Mike breathed out a breath of relief. Mike understood. Nancy had probably never known anyone who was gay before, so it would be quite worrying that it would be her brother. Plus, the "gay cancer" - as everyone called it (AIDs) was the only publicity she seen of it.

"Just give me some time. But like I said before. From now on we tell each other everything, okay? No more secrets. I'm your sister, Mike. I love you."

Mike scrunched up his face in disgust. "Love you too I guess."

Nancy laughed. "I left a sleeping bag for you on the floor so you won't wake up mom or dad when going to your room."

Nancy didn't push Mike any more after that, she let him go to sleep. She was still worried though. She was wondering where Mike had been, who his boyfriend was. And if his boyfriend was cute. 

She couldn't have her brother dating boys that weren't cute. And Will was, and Mike couldn't wait to tell her all about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my uploads become less frequent its because im starting school again and its making me extremely anxious, like i literally have daily panic attacks its awful
> 
> but im getting the help i need so hopefully i will post more then
> 
> also i want to write more happy byler things because most of them have really sad undertones because of my crippling depression (aw hell yeah)


	13. Look at Him.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike finds it hard to come to terms with the fact that he likes Will.  
> I mean look at him.

Requested fic.  
-

"What do you mean?" Mike stood outside the school, looking very confused at his two friends. They were waiting on Will, who was using the bathroom.

"You look at him all like," Lucas put on a girly voice, "Will! Oh my god Will! I love you so much! Let's get married!"

"Pfft. No I don't." Mike tried to shake him off. "Of course not. Right Dustin?"

Dustin raised his eyebrows and held his hands up. "I ain't getting involved."

Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?!" 

Just as Mike was going to make another jab at him, he seen Will approaching them and his face softened. "Ready?" he said to Will and smiled.  
Will nodded and got on his bike.

Lucas was snickering. Mike turned his head to look at his friend; who winked at him.  
Mike felt himself getting angry at him again but he didn't shout because Will was there. 

The four boys took off down the hill and began to cycle. As usual, Mike and Will took the front while Lucas and Dustin followed behind them.

Mike was quiet. He was thinking in his head. Of course he didn't like Will. Will was a boy. Boys were gross and they smelled awful.  
But Will doesn't smell awful. Will smells nice. He smells like pine trees and flowers. Not like the overwhelming floral aroma of a girl's perfume like Nancy's.  
He smelled like the earth's natural flowers. It was like he lived in a god damn forest or something.  
Mike mentally beat himself up and silently willed his brain to shut up. It's not normal to go around thinking that your best friend smells like flowers. Or that he had big beautiful eyes. Or that he looked really handsome when his hair moved in the wind as he cycled. And oh shit. He was staring at Will again.

He heard another snort from Lucas behind him and gritted his teeth. Lucas was pushing all his buttons today and he wanted nothing more than to deck him.  
"Screw you Lucas!" he said aloud. Will whipped his head to him, a startled expression on his face and Mike wanted nothing more than to take the words back in again.  
"Wow-" Will said, "What was that for?"

Mike stopped his bike. "Lucas has been a total asshole to me all day!" he turned around to Lucas, who had an offended look on his face, which only made Mike angrier. "Stop looking all hurt! You've been doing nothing but pushing my buttons all day!"

Lucas looked frustrated. "It's not my fault you're hopelessly in love with Will!" 

The group went silent.

Will was the first to speak. "Wait...what?"  
Dustin was the second. "Oh shit, Lucas. You messed up."  
Mike was the third. "I'm not! I have no idea where you got this thought from, but I am not! You don't know anything!"  
He took a step towards Lucas. Lucas pushed him back. "Back off! You are! And you won't admit it to yourself! It's ridiculous!"  
Mike's face grew a shade of red. He didn't know if it was from anger or it was because Will was standing right behind him. "Shut up!"  
Lucas kept going. "You don't even want to talk to me or Dustin anymore! It's just Will Will Will constantly!"

Mike shook his head. "I am not in love with Will! Why would I be? Look at him!"

Mike glanced at Will, who flinched and looked hurt and confused. "I'll see you guys later, alright?"

"Will. Wait. I can explain."  Mike tried to follow him, but Dustin held him back.

"Mike, don't. Give him space." He had a firm grip on his friend, but it was forgiving and comforting. He felt bad for him.

Tears clouded Mike's vision. "I-I didn't mean that! I really didn't!" 

Lucas was silent and had a angry look on his face. "Why did you say that? After everything he's been through!"

"Back off Lucas." Dustin said sternly, his hand still on Mike's shoulder; as the taller boy was still trying to go after his friend.

Mike whirled around, "I didn't mean it! He's a boy. That's what I meant. I don't like boys. I couldn't like boys! It has nothing to do with a personal attack on Will!"

Lucas shook his head; his face unchanging. "But you do. You know you do. You always have liked Will."

Mike stared at him, dumbfounded and at loss of words. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly realised he didn't have a comeback. He stood there for a moment, unmoving, mouth wide open. Dustin's hand was still on his shoulder; he realised that he was still straining to get after Will.

At the back of his mind he was still fighting with Lucas - because NO he didn't like him that way. But he did. He always has.

Feeling defeated, he stopped trying to go after Will. "What's the point?" his voice cracked, barely getting his words out through tears he was trying to hide, "I've screwed it up now."

Dustin and Lucas were silent. Lucas' face relaxed, and he looked guilty. "I'm sorry Mike. I teased you too much. It went too far."

Mike said nothing, instead he got back on his bike and began to cycle to Will's house.

\--

Will didn't know why he cared so much about what Mike had said.  
Sure, he was sensitive. Everybody knew that.  
Whenever Troy bullied him, it hurt. But it was nothing compared to the heartbreak that Will was struggling with right now.

He knew that Mike had a fiery energy. He gets caught up in the moment and shouts things that he doesn't mean. But it still hurt him a lot.

The house was empty when he came home. Jonathan wasn't back from high school just yet and his mom was working.  
He dropped off his bags and immediately left the house again. 

He didn't bother taking his bike as he ran into the forest situated behind his house - quickly locating Castle Byers.  
He let out a yell and he tore all the drawings he had stuck on the walls down. He ripped them up into pieces collapsed onto the mattress, letting out loud sobs.

"Why would I be? I mean look at him."

"Look at me." Will whispered quietly. He wished none of this had happened to him. He wished he could just fit in with his friends. He wished that he was normal.

Was he over reacting? He didn't know. But he had been letting everything build up for such a long time that he felt he needed to scream and let it out.  
He lay down, his breakdown leaving him exhausted. Sooner or later, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

\--

Mike was panicking. He had no idea where Will was. The front door was left unlocked, so he let himself in. He quickly spotted Will's schoolbag in the hall near his room and ran quickly towards it. "Will?!" he let out a frantic shout.  
Opening his bedroom door, he noticed that Will wasn't there.  
"Oh no. Oh no."

He ran out of the house at bullet speed and rushed towards the forest.  
"Will!" he walked quickly in the direction of the castle. "I'm sorry!"

There was no reply. He didn't realise that it was possible, but he panicked even more. What if he had been kidnapped again? What if something awful happened to him? How would Mike tell Joyce?

He pulled back the curtain of the Castle and let out a gasp of relief. He was about to shout and run to his friend. But he quickly spotted the ripped pages scattered over the ground.  
He quietly leaned over and picked two pieces up.  
It was a picture of Will and Mike. A tear was slashed right through the two - separating both of them into two halfs.

A tear rolled down his cheek. He dropped the half of himself, and folded the one of Will carefully and put it in the chest pocket of his coat, over his heart. He left the castle swiftfully and went home.

\--  
The next day was Saturday.  
Saturday was the day of the week where all the boys gathered up to play D&D. Usually Mike would be over the moon that the weekend had arrived - but now he wasn't so sure.  
Dustin and Will had been talking about it all week. They asked Mike constantly for clues on the campaign. Mike held his head proudly, glad he could be a dungeon master. He would refuse any questions he got.

But now Mike wasn't feeling proud of being a dungeon master.  
It was the evening and Mike had set everything up for the game. Usually he would ponder over it for ages and reassemble the board like 15 times from excitement.  
But now he was just sitting on the couch, moping over the drawing of Will. He would have to see him tonight. Why didn't he just wake him up and apologize to him in the first place?

He heard footsteps and his heart lurched, quickly shoving the drawing into his pocket.  
He looked up to spot Lucas and Dustin. He looked behind them, expecting to see a bubbly Will practically fly down the stairs, but he saw nothing.

"Uh... Hello?" Dustin waved his hand in front of Mike's eyes.

Mike snapped out of it, turning to his friends. "Will isn't here?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you too. And no. He said he wanted to sit this one out."

Mike watched as his two friends took their seats at the table. "What? But it's the start of a new campaign! He can't sit this one out because otherwise he won't know the backstory and rules!"

Dustin glanced between Lucas and Mike. "Didn't you go to him to apologize yesterday?"

Mike furrowed his eyebrows, sensing a conversation about him was had. "I-I did. But I went to the Castle and Will was asleep. He had torn all his drawings up and he looked like he had been crying."

Dustin looked to Lucas again, giving him a look that said "Go on. Say it."

Lucas gave Dustin a sideways glare before turning back to Mike.  
"We talked to Will," he started slowly, "He's hurt. Uh...."

Mike continued to look at Lucas with a questioning look.  
Dustin put his head in his hands. "Oh for gods sake just spit it out Lucas!"

Lucas turned to him, "Why don't you say it!"

Dustin let out a "Ugh!" before letting the conversation enter an awkward silence.

"Wait what the hell is going on?" Mike looked between his friends. "Did something bad happen?"

Dustin continued to glare at Lucas, who was very interested in his D&D character model.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Dustin exclaimed. "Will likes you back!"

Mike's eyes widened. "Wh- What?"

Dustin said nothing. "Can we stop talking about this now? It's extremely awkward.

Mike scrunched his face up. "I'll be right back. Stay here." He grabbed his coat and ran up the stairs, leaving the two boys completely confused.

\--

Mike knew where to go straight away. He headed straight to Castle Byers.  
"Will!" he said breathlessly as he pulled back the curtain.

The small boy looked up, his face filling with colour as he spotted Mike standing in front of him.  
Was he blushing?

"Mike." he stated after a moment of shock.

"I...." Mike couldn't took his eyes away from him. Both boys were standing facing each other, unmoving. "I'm sorry."

Will nodded. "S'okay."  
They were silent again.

Mike looked at the walls. He noted that the once ripped pictures were now sticking together with cellotape and hung back onto the wall.  
"I can't find the other half." Will said, looking sadly into his hands. He was holding half of a drawing.

Mike immediately recognized it. A cartoon version of him was smiling brightly at the two of them.  
"I have it!" Mike smiled, pulling the paper from his chest pocket.

Will looked confused. "How did you..."

Mike sighed. "I felt bad. So I came here to explain. But you were asleep and there was paper everywhere. I took a half of the drawing because.... Well I don't know why. I guess I didn't want to loose you. So I had something to look at that reminded me of you."

Will blushed even more. "That's... That's okay. I understand."

Mike handed the paper to him and Will took it gratefully before walking over to the mattress and taping it together. He pinned the drawing back on its original place on the wall. "It's a bit shabby looking."

Mike smiled. "I don't think it has ever looked better."

Will smiled slowly. "Dustin and Lucas. They explained to me why you said what you said."

Mike felt a sickness come into his stomach. "Ha ha... Yeah."

Will looked to the floor. "I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. We're in this mess together. I'm confused too."

Mike nodded. "It's hard to come to terms with. For me, anyway."

Will looked up to Mike, "I guess it has been easier for me. I've liked boys before. But never a best friend."

"Well I mean," Mike took a deep breath, "How does this even work? Do I ask you to be my boyfriend now or something?"

Will laughed and blushed. "Only if you want to."

Mike grinned. "Sure. Ok. Do you... Want to be my boyfriend?"

Will hid his face. He couldn't stop smiling. "Y-yeah."

Mike took Will's hands away from his face and placed a kiss on his cheek.

They went back to Mike's place then. They cycled together and held hands, which meant it was difficult to steer with only one hand on the handlebars but it was worth it.

When they arrived, They sat opposite each other at the table and Mike couldn't stop staring at Will, which caused suspicion between their two friends, but they didn't care.

Mike then realised that he could love Will. I mean look at him. He was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make the drawing represent Will and Mike's relationship, though idk if anyone would pick up on that.
> 
> I MADE A NEW BYLER VIDEO AND I'M HELLA PROUD OF IT! please check it out xx
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=3cSLjz93zfE


	14. "Ping!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modern au in which Will is a young writer and Mike is a reader.

Will loved to write.  
He didn't tell anyone, not even his big brother Jonathan. It was something personal to him.

He would stay up all night for hours, writing on his old notebook until his hands ached and were numb. They were nothing, really. Just old drabbles and ideas. He never wrote anything full. He was always afraid that if he commited to a story too fully; it would end. He hated endings.  
He hated the idea of creating a universe so vast and beautiful - to have it ended by a simple sentence or word.  
He vowed to never write a full story because of that.

He didn't have friends. I mean, sure, he had Dustin. But Dustin was so much cooler than him. He got bullied just like Will; but he was more outgoing and optimistic.  
He was always getting invited to other kids' birthday parties and Will felt annoying when he was following him around everywhere.  
So he kept to himself.

That was until his mom discovered his writing.

He remembers it so clearly. He arrived home to the soft hum of Jonathan playing Panic! At The Disco through his ipod.  
He remembers feeling slightly amused at the fact. After all, Jonathan was usually playing his old 80s playlist that he and Will loved so much.  
He remembers laughing silently to himself at the fact that his terribly hipster brother was now listening to music of this time.

He walked into his room. To his horror, his mother was sitting upon his bed, flicking through his notebook.  
"Why do you have that?" he reached towards the book and snatched it from her hands. "That's private!"

Joyce did nothing but smile. "You're a very talented boy, Will."

Will shook his head disapprovingly and shoved the notebook into his pocket. "What were you doing in my room?"

Joyce sighed, "I came in here for a pen. Jonathan said there would be one here."

Will closed his eyes, "That was my privacy."

Joyce stood up and walked towards her son, "I'm sorry, Will. But I mean what I said. You should post your work somewhere! You could even use my laptop."

Will shook his head, "No. It's just for me. It's a way for me to vent things that I struggle with."

She nodded, "Exactly. And that's why you should share it. So that you can connect with others going through the same thing as you."

Will looked up. Obviously she was referencing the fact that he was gay. He hadn't told Dustin. Only his family and teachers were aware. After a sigh, he said, "Alright."

\--  
Will had no idea what to write.  
Usually when he wrote for himself, the words flowed out of him at an incredibly rapid rate. But now it was hard to even form a sentence.

The thought of his work going out there for everyone to see terrified him. What if they didn't like it? What if he got hate?

After several scrapped ideas, he settled on a story of a young boy who had a super power. The young boy's name was Orran.  
He had ginger hair and purple eyes. He wore a large trench coat of a red colour with gold trimmings.  
The young boy had the power to create worlds and bring people into them. The only problem was that Orran had nobody to revel in this power with. He created worlds over and over again - filled with shining lights and beauty, but they were empty. He had nobody to share them with.  
So Orran began to create destructive worlds. Worlds filled with terror and pain and silence.

Will sat back in his chair, fingers ghosting over the keyboard. Was this too heavy? He sighed.  
He didn't really care.  
He clicked "publish", and turned off the laptop before going to bed.

He expected to get nothing.  
\--

The next morning was Saturday, to his relief.  
He quickly turned on the laptop that was set next to his bed and logged in.

He let out a small breath of shock.  
His story had been viewed 400 times in one night?

He scrolled down to the comments; and what he saw lifted his spirits.

"This is so beautiful oh my gosh! Please write more!"

"I relate to this a lot."

"Your writing is amazing! I love this so much and I hope that you choose to write more."

"Wow, this is truly creative. You're a very talented person."

Will smiled, small tears clouding his vision.  
This had never happened to him before. He had never felt so loved.

He opened his private messages to see that he had one new message. Clicking on it, he read a username, "wheeler1982".

"Hi! I noticed you are new to the site and I wanted to welcome you. Your work is really amazing!"

Will grinned, getting a funny feeling in his stomach - just like he did whenever he read any of the other postitive comments.  
"Hello! Thank you so much. What's your name?"

He was just about to get out of bed when he heard a "ping" noise.  
He turned back to the laptop.  
"No problem. You should write more! And I'm Mike. You are?"

Will began to type.  
"I might. Although I'm always afraid of having to end my stories. I'm Will. It's nice to meet you."

Will did continue his story of Orran. And the amount of readers went from hundreds to thousands.  
Everytime he posted a chapter, he waited and waited for that "ping" noise to see the username of "wheeler1982" pop up on his screen with positive messages.

He talked with Mike daily. Whenever he went to school he couldn't wait to go home and talk to him.  
Whenever he thought of his nice comments he grinned like an idiot.

One night, he heard the familiar ping come from his laptop.  
"We've been friends for six months now. And I have no idea what you look like hahaha"

Will frowned, that was true. "If you want, I can send a picture of my face?"

His mom always told him not to talk to strangers online, but he knew he could trust Mike.

There was a ping, and Mike said, "Sure!"

Will smiled and opened up his webcam. He posed with a wide grin and held up a peace sign with his two fingers.  
He sent it to his friend, afraid of his reaction.  
But there was no reaction.  
Wheeler1982 never replied.

\--  
Three weeks had gone by, and Will was still putting out chapters as often as he could. He still got positive comments, and he smiled everytime there was one in his notifications, but he missed the attention from Mike.  
Why did he go? Why didn't he reply? Was Will ugly or weird looking?

Will never pestered him. He didn't want to message him and annoy him. So he said nothing either. He became quiet and went to school everyday, but it wasn't the same without the excitement of getting home to a computer of messages from his friend.

One day, he bumped into a kid at school by accident.  
"I'm sorry!" Will said in a weak voice, expecting a fist to the face from the taller boy.  
The kid had dark hair, and was lanky and generally looked awkward. But he looked nice in his own way. 

Something happened then that Will never expected from anyone.  
The boy's face twisted to a face filled with fear. And then he started to run down the hall, away from Will.  
Will watched him go, utterly confused. Why did he look so scared?

Will never noticed the stranger before, but he began to notice him a lot more after the situation.  
Anytime he seen him in the corridors, the tall boy would avoid his glances.

Will wasn't the type of person to go up to someone and talk to them, and either was the stranger. So both of them never spoke to one another.

That was until Will had to go to a different art class.  
His teacher was on pregnancy leave, so his class was split up and sent to different classes until she came back.

Of course Will was sent to the stranger's class. And of course he was asked to sit next to the very lonely looking boy.

Both of them said nothing.

"Michael, would you like to share your portrait with the class? I think it's incredible." as soon as the words left the teacher's mouth, Michael said, "No!" in a stern tone.

Will's heard fluttered. He had never heard the stranger speak before. And he had just learned his name was Michael.

The teacher sighed and rolled his eyes before picking up Mike's sheet and turning it around to show the class.

It was of a ginger boy with bright purple eyes. It was a profile drawing so you couldn't see his full body; but you could clearly see he wore a bright red trench coat with gold trimmings.

"A portrait of Orran." the teacher read aloud.

Will's mouth went dry. It couldn't be.

"By Mike Wheeler."

Will's eyes widened and he felt himself freeze with shock. He felt like he couldn't speak.  
Sitting next to him was his best friend, wheeler1982.  
How long had they walked past each other in corridors, feeling empty and lonely - and not knowing that there was a friend waiting for them right there in the real world?

Will said nothing, frozen in his seat.  
After a while of terrifingly awkward silence, he took out a piece of paper and wrote.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he passed it to the other boy, his heart thumping out of his chest in heavy beats.

The boy didn't touch the note for a long time. Then he took it. Opened it. Paused. And he began to write.

He handed it back to Will, his hands shaking slightly. "I was scared."

Will wrote. "Do you want to come over later? I'll let you read the new chapter before it's uploaded."

He seen the boy smile. "I'd love to. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

Will smiled then.  
He quickly realised that maybe endings weren't so bad. Because it meant that new things could come into your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE HAD THIS IDEA FOR SO LONG AND IM SO HAPPY TO BRING IT TO YOU GUYS
> 
> Also - requests are open again my dudes.
> 
> Thank you for your support. It makes me so happy :)  
> -Oliver


	15. What Normal Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mike discovers about Will vomiting slugs.

Requested fic.

-

Will hadn't told anyone about his nightly visits to the bathroom.  
He would try and be as quiet as possible; and he had gotten quite good at it.  
He found that coughing into a towel muffled the noises.  
He used to be disgusted whenever it happened. The feeling of sickness in his stomach wouldn't go away. The thought of slugs inside of him made him feel ill.  
But now he didn't even think twice. He went to the bathroom. Got it over with. And went back to bed and slept a peaceful night.

He knew he ought to tell someone. But he felt smothered by everyone constantly.  
He worried that if he was to mention it; everyone would panic. And they would all rush to Will's aid.  
Will didn't want help. 

Although he was only gone for a week, Will had learned how to live by himself. And it didn't feel like a week. It felt like months. He didn't sleep. The sun never rose and the moon never came into the black sky so he had no idea how long he was there.  
Things like eating strange goo or not moving for hours became normal to him. He forgot what used to be normal.

So when he came back to the real world; it took him months to readjust. He didn't realise that vomiting up slugs was an abnormal or worrying thing. All he knew was that it made him feel disgusted.

So he definitely did not expect Mike to react in the way that he did.

\--

Mike and Will were at a sleepover at the Wheeler's place again.  
It was the first time they had a sleepover since Will had returned; and Mike was trying his hardest to make it as normal as possible.

"Do you want some candy?" the Wheeler boy offered.  
They were sitting on Mike's couch, watching Star Wars.  
Mike's family were out; which mean that Ted wasn't hogging the TV. 

Will was laying down on his back - his head rested on Mike's lap.  
He turned his head to look up at Mike and nodded.  
He opened his mouth and pointed to it, making an "Ahhh." noise - indicating for Mike to put a sweet into his mouth.

Mike shook his head, looking down at his friend. "No frickin' way. You'll choke."  
Will pouted but sat upright. He opened his mouth again and tried not to laugh.

Mike sighed. "You're such a baby." he popped the candy into Will's mouth and let out a small breath of laughter.

Will smiled. He was enjoying this. He liked to spend time with Mike.  
Mike was the loudest and the one with the shortest temper out of all four of the boys, but he was gentle with Will. And Will took pride in that. 

He sat for a minute and swallowed his sweet; silently watching the screen.  
"I am your father." he heard the crackling voice of Darth Vader say. 

Suddenly he felt a sickness come over him. He didn't panic. It wasn't the first time it had happened in one of the boys' houses. It happened in Dustin's place a while ago.  
"I need to use the bathroom." 

"Awww, what?" Mike looked defeated. "But it's the best part."  
Mike had his arm open to invite Will back to him.  
He had been cuddling him and he missed his warmth.

Will smiled. "It's alright. I'll be back in a second. You won't even realise I'm gone."  
Mike gave him a look as if to say; "But I will."

Will rolled his eyes and smiled fondly, before running down the hall and into the bathroom.

As soon as he arrived into the room, he immediately tried to locate the towel. Only there wasn't one there.  
Obviously it was in the wash and nobody replaced it.

Now he was panicking. Thinking fast, he took the toilet paper and unrolled some of it just as he started to cough.

It didn't work as well. The toilet paper was thin.

And now Will was coughing. Coughing uncontrollably. He made a sickening noise and vomited into his hand, where a slug was now wriggling. He thought nothing of it and was about to flush it down the toilet when the door opened and he froze.

"Will? Are you sick?" Mike looked worried.  
Will shook his head. "N-no!"

But it was clear as day that he was. Will was pale and his breathing was rough and it sounded like he had a chest cold; like he usually is a few minutes after what happens.

Mike looked confused and looked down to Will's hand; and his face twisted to shock.  
"Will? Did you throw this up?"  
He took several steps towards his friend, who had given up. "Uh, yeah."

Mike looked to Will, his face covered in worry and disgust. "Holy shit, are you okay? Is this because of the upside down?"

Will nodded, saying nothing. He turned and flushed the disgusting thing down the toilet.  
"W-Will. I think you'd need to tell someone about this."

Will whipped around. "No! You can't! If my mom finds out she'll get worried and stressed out."

Mike shook his head, taking both of Will's shoulders in his hands, shaking him slightly. "Look at yourself, Will! You need to stop worrying about others constantly and put your own well being first! You're suffering because of it!"

Tears welled in Will's eyes. "N-no! I'm fine! I'm not suffering!"

A tear rolled down Mike's own cheek. "No you're not fine! And the fact that you think this is perfectly normal says enough! This shouldn't be normal to you! You weren't even shocked!"

Will fell silent and looked to the floor, tears falling from his eyes and onto the tiles. "I-I'm sorry Mike."

Mike sighed, pulling Will close to him. "You haven't done anything wrong. This isn't your fault. But please let me tell someone."

Will nuzzled into Mike's neck, breathing in and out deeply. "Okay." he whispered.

Mike closed his eyes, one of his hands reaching up to Will's hair where he petted it gently.  
"Thank you." he whispered back.

And Will finally began to discover what normal was again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's a lil short - I havent had much time lately and in my spare time I'm working on MEP parts or catching up on sleep.
> 
> -Ollie


	16. G I R L S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will has a passion for hair, and Mike is hiding a secret.

Will was ashamed to admit it, but he liked hair.  
He wanted to be a hair stylist when he was older. He tried to talk to his dad about this a long time ago - but was shot down at even the thought of it.

His mom was fine with it though. She would sit on the floor when Will was only a toddler; and let him play with her hair for hours.  
She was glad that his passion grew.

Will was a bit different from other kids, everyone knew that.  
Heck, he was different compared to his three friends who were known outsiders.  
His friends were strange, yeah. But they weren't as strange as Will.

Will grew up in a broken family. He had a distorted view of life.  
He learned that men are destructive from his father. And that women are caring from his mother.

So therefore, growing up most of his friends' were girls. He was afraid of getting close to boys.  
It was fine up until he started to grow up a bit.  
Suddenly there was a pressure on him to only talk to boys, and that girls were only there to talk to if you wanted to date one of them.

And if you constantly talked to girls; you were a queer who wasn't manly enough to hang out with other guys.

So Will distanced himself from his friends. He stopped going to their houses and plaiting their hair and reassuring them that, "No, you're not fat!" or calling them pretty because, "Having a boy's opinion just helps sometimes." 

But Will needed his friends. They were kind to him. They were gentle, unlike the loud boys at school. He always seen them play fighting or just generally shouting.  
Will hated it.  
He hated the mentality that came with being a boy. He hated that he had to act in a certain way.

So he minimized contact with his friends, until they eventually just drifted off from him all together, only stopping to say "Hello!" as they passed each other in the corridors.

 

Will was feeling particularly lonely one day while he was eating lunch.  
Next thing he knows, three boys approach him.  
"Give us your lunch."  
Will sat in shock, he had heard about people like this before; but one had never approached him.  
He knew that he was supposed to say no and tell a teacher, but he didn't want to give any hassle.

He slid the lunch tray over to the boys, who snatched it and began to walk the other way, leaving Will on his own at the table.  
He swallowed, feeling sick to his stomach with fear.  
He looked down, and was about to get up to leave when three new boys slid their trays onto the table.

"Hey!" one of the boys' said cheerfully, sitting opposite Will. "We saw Troy giving you shit. And we couldn't leave you on your own." he held out a chocolate bar to him. "Do you want this? I don't think I could eat it anyway."

Will looked from the boy sitting opposite him, to the curly haired one on the right, and to the african american one sitting next to him.  
He suspected that they were pulling his leg; getting a laugh out of him.

But all three of them looked kind and sympathetic; just like his old friends.  
He nodded, taking the bar. "Thank you."

"What's your name?" the curly boy asked him, giving him a toothless smile.

"I-I'm Will." he smiled. Maybe they were nice people after all.

"Well I'm Michael. Mike for short." Will turned his attention back to the boy sitting opposite him. "And this is Dustin. And that's Lucas."

Will smiled. "Nice to meet you."

\--

A few months went on and Will couldn't be happier. His friends were nice. And sure, he did have trust issues sometimes, but they always proved his suspicions wrong with their kindness.

In fact, they even invited him to their houses. Which was a strange experience.  
Will learned more about how boys his age worked, and he learned about Dungeons and Dragons.  
He loved it. A creative mind like his was able to fluorish in that game.  
And he learned that his friends had creative minds too.

He began to take interest in things such as Star Wars or comics.  
He was so caught up in this new world that whenever his old friends sat next to him one day, he completely forgot how his old ways were viewed as "wrong".

"Will!" one of the girls shouted to him, sitting next to Will and his friends and giving him a hug.

The three boys raised their eyebrows and whistled, much to the girls dismay. Will shook his head. "Ignore them." 

The girl looked humilated, but spoke anyway. "I-I was wondering if you could do my hair later. I'm going to an event and my mom forgot to book a hair stylist."

Will looked to his friends and back at the girl again. His mouth was open, as if he was going to say "Sure!"  
But Lucas spoke first. "Really? You're asking a dude to do your hair for you? Do you think he's a queer?"

Will's head whipped around to Lucas in shock. Dustin elbowed him in the ribs. Mike said nothing, a concerned expression on his face. 

These weren't the kind faces that came to sit at his table when he was lonely. In Will's eyes; these were the faces of young boys, who were judgmental just like everyone else.

And suddenly Will was very frightened of them.  
And months of trust building went out the window.

The girl sitting next to Will suddenly looked very upset. Will tried to reach for her as she ran off.

He turned back to the boys, to see Dustin shaking his head in disapproval as the girl left.  
A lump formed in Will's throat.  
"Screw you guys." he choked out through tears forming in his eyes.  
The boys all looked to him, their eyebrows furrowing. "You talk about acceptance and you're against bullying. Yet you are only accepting of people if they are a certain way. Just like Troy and the rest of them."

Will got up before they could say anything, before running after the forlorn girl.

\--

Will swore he wouldn't talk to them again. He didn't want to. He had given up with trying to talk to boys his age.  
His passion in hair was rekindled, and he spent time with his old friends again; who happily welcomed him back to them and comforted him when he explained why he stopped talking to them all in the first place.

His friend who was upset forgave him. He agreed to do her hair for her as an apology.

He stood over the girl as she sat in a chair. He began to plait a section of her hair into a small french plait.  
They were silent, and Will's hands moved across the strands like it was natural to him.

He didn't realise how much that he missed working with hair until he got to create something with it again. 

The girl was the first to speak. "Will...."

Will continued to work, a hair pin between his lips. "Mmh?"

"Are..." she paused, "Are you gay?"

Will froze. He took the pin out of his mouth and pinned the plait into place before sitting down. "What makes you think that?"

The girl shrugged. "What your friends said. They said that I must of thought you were queer if I asked you to do my hair."

Will shifted uncomfortingly. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not." He said, almost reassuring himself.

The girl nodded. "Okay then. They were just being jerks."

Will nodded. "Right."

Truth be told; Will had no idea if he was gay or not.  
He hadn't exactly been attracted to any boys. But he hadn't been attracted to any girls either.  
He just figured that he needed to wait a while. He would grow up and start liking girls soon enough. Just like Jonathan.

But he never did start liking girls.

\--  
Will was in the library with his friends. It was break time at school, and he had time to relax.  
His friends were ecstastic to have him back, and they chatted his ear off.

Will sat patiently, listening to each of them and sometimes giving his input.  
They were talking about boys and makeup and girly things.  
Will used to be good at talking about this stuff; but after spending time with the boys he wanted to chat about comics or something. But he didn't. He sat respectfully.

That was until he felt someone tapping his shoulder and Will's group went silent.  
Will turned around to see Mike - standing above him.  
He looked nervous, which wasn't something that Will usually saw in the confident boy.

"U-Uh. We were wondering if you wanted to plan our new campaign with us." Mike pointed to a few tables down the room, where Dustin and Lucas were sitting. "Lucas said he was really sorry for yesterday."

One of the girls spoke up. She had bright blonde hair and brown eyes. "Why don't you tell him to come over and apologize to his face? After the way you all spoke about Will yesterday, I don't blame him if he doesn't forgive any of you."

Will was silent. He only looked up at Mike from his seat.  
He didn't know why, but he felt butterflies in his tummy.

"I didn't say anything bad about him!" Mike looked angry, "I would never do something like that to him! I care about him a lot!"

The girl stood up, and Will didn't know how to process what was happening. "If you really cared about him that much you wouldn't be hanging out with someone who would refer to him as a queer!" she spat.

"I can't control other people's words!" Mike spat back.

The girl was about to retaliate, but Will stood up, putting his hand on Mike's chest. "W-wait!"

The girl closed her mouth and gave Will a confused look. "I was just sticking up for you."

Mike shook his head, "From what?" he looked frustrated, "I came over here and was being nice! I didn't want to loose him as a friend!" he breathed out, "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that cares about Will! Whenever he started drifting off from you, none of you came to him! He was alone!"

Will was overwhelmed. He just stood there, hand on Mike's chest as he stared at him.

All of the girls were silent as they looked down in shame.

Mike tore his angry eyes away from the girl and looked down at Will.  
Will almost staggered. Had they always been standing this close?

And then Mike kissed him. In front of all of them. 

It lasted for a few seconds before they pulled back. They were locked in each others eyes - not being able to look away.

The butterflies in Will's tummy grew stronger.

Everyone was in shock. 

Mike was the one to break the silence.  
"By the way, I think it's cute that you like to style other people's hair."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to subscribe to the fic to get alerts when theres a new update!
> 
> I had a few hours free during school today so I decided to write this. My updates may be a bit infrequent these days because of some personal things.
> 
> But tysm for the support xx  
> -Ollie


	17. The Snowball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mike takes Will as his date to the snowball.

Requested fic  
-  
Nancy had been preparing Mike for the Snowball for weeks.

"You should always hold the door open for your date! And ask her if she wants a drink." she had said, her head held high, "Keep the conversation going too. It can't run dry."

So needless to say, Mike was extremely stressed the week before - saying as he didn't have a date.

He had asked three girls out - which had terrified him. All three of them had turned him down and left him disheartened.

"Man, just bring a friend." Lucas had said to him. "That's what everyone does when they don't have a date."

And Mike was going to bring Lucas. But then Lucas told him he was going with Dustin. 

Mike had a plan to ask out another girl when Dustin stopped him.  
"It's a bit late now, buddy." he had sighed, "Also, I mean look at us. We're losers. Who would want to go with us anyways, if we're being completely honest?"

Mike had swore that Will had looked at him with hopeful eyes, but he brushed it off - because yet again; Mike Wheeler was oblivious as all hell to everything.

\--

"Just ask Will out." Dustin sat in Mike's room, legs crossed on the floor as Mike paced the same spot for the hundreth time.

"Ask Will out?!" Mike stopped his pacing, "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea of how that sounds?"

Dustin sighed, "It's not like that, Mike. I'm going with Lucas as friends because we don't have a date. Everyone is doing it."

Mike shook his head, "But you're supposed to hold the door open for your date! And ask if they want a drink! And keep the conversation going! I've been practicing for weeks!"

Dustin raised his eyebrows, "I'm sure Will would love it if you did that."

Mike crossed his arms, "Dustin! This is serious!"

Dustin sighed, "Is it, though? It's just a fun night out. I don't see why you're so uptight with bringing a boy; who happens to be one of your best friends."

Mike sat down. "I don't know how you're NOT uptight about bringing Lucas."

Dustin shook his head, "Because he's my friend, Mike. I'm bringing my friend. Do I need to spell it out for you? Look, f-r-i-e-n-d."

Mike looked sad. "I just wanted to look after my date."

Dustin ran his hands over his face, "Then do that. Will won't mind. You know what he's like. He's chill."

Mike was about to protest; but he then closed his mouth. What was the point of arguing? 

"Also, I heard a girl has the eye for Will. So if you want to ask him, I'd ask him as soon as you can." Dustin nodded.

Mike felt a wave of jealousy come over him. He felt like he was afraid to go with Will and he thought it was wrong, but the thought of Will going with anyone else annoyed him.  
"I'll cycle you home later. Then I'll go to Will's place."

Dustin had smiled. "Nice."

\--

"What do I even say to him?!" Mike had asked Dustin, (who was currently trying to get rid of his lanky friend so he could get inside his house and have his dinner.)

Dustin shrugged, "Just ask him. You're only going as friends anyway."

"How did you and Lucas ask each other?" Mike was biting on his nails.

Dustin rolled his eyes, "We just decided to go together. That's all. Nothing memorable. I didn't write the whole fricking conversation down."

Mike opened his mouth to speak again, but Dustin shut him up with a "Have a nice night!" and closing the door.

Mike stood there outside Dustin's place, staring at the door for a moment.

He sighed and began to cycle down the street, forming a conversation with Will in his head.  
He couldn't make it too formal.   
But if he made it too friendly he would look like he was forcing it. How the hell was it going to work?  
The Snowball was in two days.

By the time Mike had arrived at Will's place, he had scrambled together a conversation in his head to the best of his ability.

He hesitated, his hand hovering over the door. Maybe this was a bad idea. He could always ask him tomorrow at school. The other boys would be there and it would seem more of a friendly thing.

But Will could ask out that girl tomorrow. Mike furrowed his eyebrows and knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, and Will peered out the side. He noticed it was Mike and opened the door fully.  
"Mike!" he hugged the boy with such a force that Mike let out a little "Oomph!" when he crashed into him.

"Hey Will." Mike hugged the smaller boy back.

Will took a step back and beamed up at him. "Why are you here?" his eyes darted to the side, "N-not that I mind. Actually I don't mind at all. Not one bit. I'm glad you're here. I mean- Oh just come in."

He went inside the house and Mike followed, smiling happily.  
"Jonathan and mom are out. Mom is working and Jonathan decided to work during nights again. Don't tell my mom that I told you that, though. She hates it when he does that."

Mike smiled. "I won't."   
In fact - he was over the moon that Jonathan was out. He didn't want to ask his little brother out in front of him.

The two boys went into the kitchen, where Will had crayons and paper scattered all over the table.  
"Will?" Mike rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah?" Will turned to look at Mike as he sat down.

Mike walked towards the table and took a seat. "I-I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Snowball with me?"

Will's eyes widened and his cheeks reddened. He hid his face behind his palm. He said nothing.

Mike stuttered, "As f-friends! Like Lucas and Dustin."

Will looked at Mike. His face was also a shade of dark red and his eyes were glued to the blue crayon on the table. This clearly wasn't how he planned this to go.

"Are you sure?" Will spoke, causing Mike's eyes to dart up and immediately avoid eye contact. "Are you sure that you want to go as just friends? I thought you were excited to h-have a date."

Mike's eyed widened. "U-Uh. I didn't want to put you in that position. I thought it would be weird."

Will shook his head. "I don't care. I'll go as your friend or as your date."

Mike thought for a second, his face turning back to its natural colour. "I... I need to think about it."

"Okay." Will looked to the floor and tried to hide his smile. "Thanks for asking me."

\--

The night had arrived and Mike was nervous. He and Will had decided to go as more than friends; and he was absolutely terrified.   
He had stood in his room in his tux all day practicing lines such as "Can I get you a drink?"

Eventually, it was seven o clock and Mike practically ran down the stairs.   
"Oh look at my little boy!" Karen had smiled and hugged her son.  
He went into the kitchen to find his three friends sitting at the table, all looking very smart.

But Will looked the best in Mike's eyes.  
The small boy had a white shirt with a black bowtie. He had a navy waistcoat and blazer.  
His blazer was a bit too big on him, and he had to roll up the sleeves so that it fit him correctly.

Mike beamed and announced a "Hello!" at the small group that had gathered.  
They all turned to look at him and grinned.   
Will looked a bit shy and tried to avoid eye contact with him.

\--  
The four boys arrived to the hall; where they all practically ran to the front doors. Mike held the door open for Will, but Lucas and Dustin barged in ahead.  
Will rolled his eyes affectionately and thanked Mike as he walked in.

Mike's heart was thumping. He wanted nothing more than to impress Will.

They entered the hall and looked around. There were christmas lights everywhere. There was confetti and glitter all over the floor and there were banners across the walls that read "Merry Christmas!" and other well wishes.

"Oh my god." Dustin said aloud as he spotted the food table.  
Mike rolled his eyes at him, "Typical."

\--  
The start of the night went okay. Mike felt extremely awkward around Will. Even after weeks of training from Nancy - he had no idea how to be smooth with him.

He tried to give him a dashing smile like the handsome boys did in the romance movies Nancy watches, but Will asked him if he was in pain. It didn't exactly sweep him off his feet. It just made him worried.

Mike tried to lead Will by the hand onto the dancefloor, but he ended up tripping on the floor and staggering; causing Will to laugh. That wasn't the intention.

So Will and Mike danced for a bit. Will was an awful dancer just like Mike so they looked terrible together - but in a good way.

The slow song came on and Mike hesitantly stopped and looked down at Will.

Will smiled up at him and placed his hands on Mike's shoulders.  
Mike freaked out and awkwardly placed his hands on Will's waist.

"This is so cheesy." Will laughed, letting his head fall on Mike's chest.

Mike stiffened; even more awkward than before. His heart was racing as he swayed slowly in an inexperienced movement. "Yeah."

Will looked up at him and smiled again; making Mike a bit jealous. Will had always had a dashing smile and never needed to try. Whereas Mike looked like he was in pain when he tried to be dashing.

Will kissed his cheek and heat rose into Mike's face; and he turned bright red.

"Thank you for asking me to be your date." Will said sweetly; causing Mike's heart to flutter and panic.  
"A-A-Anytime." Mike was sure his face was turning purple now. Really? Anytime? What kind of reply was that?

Will only blushed at the fact that Mike was blushing. And the both of them were there; two awkward, blushing messes.

And then the slow song ended, and an upbeat tune began to play.   
Dustin and Lucas found them quickly and began to dance happily with the two of them.

Mike had known that he was awkward and probably didn't live up to Nancy's expectation; but he couldn't think of anyone else that he would of rather brought to the ball.  
He would of been terrible if he had brought a girl. They would of laughed and complained that he was a bad date.  
But Will didn't care. Will liked the fact that Mike was a "bad date". He embraced what was different about him.  
And Mike appreciated the fact that Will was patient. He was patient with the way he was. He let Mike take his time.

He just wasn't looking forward to Nancy drilling him for answers when he got home.  
Right now, he wanted to spend time with Will. You never know when someone could slip from your fingertips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got two requests - one for possessive!Mike and one for the Snowball so I decided to combine them in a way. I hope that's alright!  
> -Oliver


	18. Goodbye?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mike never got to say goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE KIDS SAID IN THE FIRST EPISODE WITH THE ARMY OF ??? so if its wrong please let me know I'm not a d&d expert and i just went by what I heard

Mike and Will had feelings for each other - but for a long time they had no idea how to cope with them because of the society they lived in.

They used to hold hands, compliment each other, pick out the other's outfit and make things like daisy chains or drawings for one another.

Overtime, the amount of affection shown to one another lessened.  
Mainly because they were beginning to grow up.  
It wasn't seen as a cute friendship by the adults anymore. It was seen as something wrong, unnatural and should be stopped. It was seen as queer.

"Honey; I think you need to stop touching Mike so much and holding hands with him." Joyce had told Will one night.  
Will hadn't understood, in which Joyce had to respond in a hushed whisper, "People may think you're a queer. I don't want you to get bullied."

Will didn't want to stop holding hands with Mike or giving him hugs. But he held back none the less.

Mike's mother asked of the same thing from her son.  
Mike didn't want to stop either, but he did as well.

They sometimes still held hands when their parents weren't around. When they were with Dustin and Lucas; who were usually fine with it.

But they were growing up too. They never said anything to the boys' faces; but they gave them strange looks when they did anything.  
It went on for a while, but it had then gotten to the point that the two barely looked each other in the eye in fear of being seen as "queer".

\--

It was another typical night at the Wheelers'.  
The four boys had been playing D&D for 10 hours.

"Something's coming. Something angry. Hungry for your blood. It..." Mike paused, "...is almost here."

"What is it?" Will called out, causing Mike to hide a smile at his excitement. He found it cute.

"What if it's the demogorgon?" Dustin looked shocked at his own idea, "Oh we're so screwed if it's the demogorgon."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "It's not the demogorgon!"

Mike fumbled with the piece behind the board. He had just been planning on giving them an easy fight, but he was having second thoughts now. What if he did just lay the demogorgon on them? It would be funny to see.

"An army of charglenights storm into the cave!"  
Lucas grinned, "Told you."

Mike grinned to himself, because Lucas was wrong.  
"Wait. What was that?" he whispered, "Boom... Boom.... BOOM!"

To his delight, the three boys jumped in fear. "No... That didn't come from the charglenights, that came from something else." For a second he locked eyes with Will. It kind of took the breath out of him.  
Will just smiled and leaned forward, clearly interested in what was happening.

"It's the demogorgon." Dustin said, content with his analogy.  
"It's not the demogorgon!" Lucas yelled.

"The demogorgon!" Mike slammed the piece onto the board, causing the three players to let out angry noises.

"Will, your action!" Mike shouted, nodding to his friend.

"I-I don't know what to do!" the boy was confused.

"Don't be a pussy, fireball him!" Lucas shouted.

"But that would mean that I have to roll a thirteen or higher!"

"Cast protection!" Dustin shouted.

After a while of arguing, Will released the dice between his hands. "Fireball!"

The players watched the dice fall to the floor. "Where is it?"

As they were looking, Mike bumped into Will and his heart leaped into his throat. Both boys said nothing but they had a silent acknowledgment of what had happened and there was a tension in the room.

\--  
Mike was standing outside with his three friends. He didn't want them to go - especially not Will - because there was so much left of the campaign to do.

He was trying his best to avoid eye contact with Will; but he was extremely aware of the boy who seemed to silently insist that he walked along beside him.  
Mike didn't realise, but Will hadn't been able to look away from him. His eyes were on Mike the entire time.

And when the other two boys left, Will spoke. It was the first time that they had spoken alone in a long time.

"It was a seven."

Mike turned to look at Will, a confused expression on his face. 

"The roll. It was a seven."

Mike understood what he had meant, but he was more confused at the fact that Will had spoken directly to him alone.

Will gazed into Mike's eyes, like he was trying to say something. He opened his mouth and hesitated, before blurting out:  
"The demogorgon. It got me."

Mike looked concerned and kept eye contact for a little longer.

Something came over Will then, and he looked to the ground. He let out a grunt. "See you tomorrow!"

Mike said nothing as he watched him leave, at loss of words. The lights flickered as he left.

Mike told himself that he'll talk to Will about it tomorrow.  
But he never could.

\--

Mike was supposed to be eating dinner, but he only picked at it. He was stressed out of his mind.  
His parents seemed to not worry about Will's disappearance.  
"I'm the only one acting normal here! I'm the only one that cares about Will!"

He knew it wasn't true, but he sure as hell felt like it.  
Nobody else seemed to worry that his best friend had gone missing. 

"That's really unfair, son." his dad told him, "We care."  
Mike opened his mouth to argue again but gave up and ran up into his room.

He slammed the door after him, and began to pace the room in anger.

He should be out there looking for him.  
Defeated, he flopped down onto the floor and let tears fall from his eyes.  
He was angry and confused and worried all at once and he had no idea what to do or how to think straight.  
Mike began to worry if it was his fault that Will ran away. Was it because he didn't say anything the last time he saw him?  
Will had tried to reach out to him. 

He pulled his knees to his face and cried.  
He didn't even get to say goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for lack of posts. Personal stuff. Hopefully will have more time soon. Love you all xx  
> -Ollie
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=3cSLjz93zfE


	19. Crayons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will's crayons started going missing. And Mike suddenly likes to draw a lot.

Requested fic.  
-

Will's crayons were disappearing. It started a while ago. A blue crayon went missing here, a yellow one there. But lately they became more frequent.   
His mom just told him that he needed to stop being so forgetful with where he put them. But Will knew that it wasn't Will's forgetfulness. Someone was taking them.

It was the end of summer. Will noticed that the crayons went missing a lot more the closer that school came. And now it was the first day of school. And Will only had a handful of crayons left.

He was exhausted when he arrived at school. He was up all night thinking of who the master thief could be. They were sneaky. So they were probably hard to catch. But Will didn't expect to catch him straight away.

As Will walked up to the school, he watched as Troy made his yearly rounds of giving everyone dead arms. He swiftly ducked behind a wall just to the left of the school, hoping to avoid him.

Will had gone three years without a dead arm. And every year, Troy swore he would get him and give him two dead arms instead of one.   
Will walked briskly up to the front doors just as Troy began to chase after him.  
Will picked up the speed, opening the front door just as a teacher walked out and caught Troy red handed.   
Will grinned and walked happily down the hall, a fourth year in his pocket with no dead arms.

A new girl had joined the school and taken Will's place in his english class, so Will found that he had to move. It caused him a small burst of anxiety, as Lucas was in his original English class and he worried that he wouldn't know anyone in his new one.

He walked through the packed corridors to the English rooms, quickly spotting Troy a few people ahead of him.  
He was supposed to be going to English room 2; but would happily take a detour to avoid him.

He repostitioned himself behind the girl in front of him, thanking her silently that she was so tall. 

He kept his eyes on him, and watched him enter English room 2.

Will's heart began to thump. He began to reassure himself.   
It will be fine. The teacher will be there and Troy won't give him a dead arm because of that. But what about afterwards?  
He took a deep breath and told himself to take one thing at a time.

He opened the door and his eyes immediately turned to a familiar figure.   
Of course! How could he have forgotten? Mike was in Troy's class. He never stopped complaining about it.

The teacher greeted him and introduced him to the class. He allowed Will to make his decision as to where he would sit.   
There was a spare seat next to Troy, who grinned and patted it. Will shook his head at the thought of dead arms for the rest of the year. 

He took the seat that was free next to Mike, who hadn't even noticed that Will was here and was in his own world, furiously colouring with..... Crayons. Will's crayons specifically.

Will looked puzzled before tapping Mike on the shoulder; who jumped and scrambled the crayons up, turning the page over and trying his best to hide the evidence.

Will raised his eyebrows, and Mike looked defeated, letting the crayons fall to the table.  
Will tried not to laugh. He didn't expect Mike - of all people - to be the master thief that stole his crayons. Mike was clumsy and loud. Not sneaky and clever like Will had imagined the culprit to be.

"Why did you take my crayons?" Will laughed, he was more amused than annoyed.

Mike let his head fall to the table surface. "I wanted to make you something. But I didn't get it finished before school started like I wanted to."

Will shook his head. "You could of just asked to borrow them."  
He was confused now. Why was Mike being so secretive? It was unlike him.

"No!" Mike looked shocked at even the thought of borrowing them, "Then you would know. And it would ruin the surprise."

Will smiled. "Well I know now. Can I see?"

Mike sighed."I was just finished anyway."   
He slid the drawing over to Will, who took it and turned it over. It was a drawing of Castle Byers. A lot of effort was put into it. It was very well drawn.

"I know it's not great." Mike said sadly. "I could of made it better if I had more time-"  
"It's perfect." Will interrupted him, smiling at Mike.

Mike closed his mouth and smiled, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.

"But next time, just ask to borrow them, okay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it's so short, I'm trying my best with the time I have!
> 
> To anyone that has left requests - Im sorry but I really haven't had much time! I am trying my best to get around to them and I hope you can be patient. The next fic will be possessive!Mike.  
> -Ollie x


	20. im back bitches.

YEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHADDUP 

its been like fucking months since I wrote.   
but I'm picking up the fic again.

I probably won't be updating this as often as I used to. I have a BIG fic planned that I wanna work on.

I'm so fucking sorry that it's been so long.

I had an entire chapter written out.  
I also had a johnlock/byeler au in the process, and then my computer decided to take a shit and I lost all of my work.

I just felt really shitty about it and I had no motivation to pick up writing again because of it. I had a lot going on in my life as well that made me even more pissed off than it should.

BUT EY. Ollie is back. And it's all good again.

Just wanted to make my announcement to you guys on here, if you don't follow my ask.fm.  
https://ask.fm/strangerpilot

also my youtube channel really kicked off. I recently hit 1000 subs!  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDdkvDlykUCp-nygsYIBmaw

can't wait to start writing for you again!!


	21. Singing Georgia On My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU where Will died after being found in the upside down.
> 
> Title is from this song: https://youtu.be/HO8i2jP0YCg
> 
> Chapter is heavily inspired by that song. Give it a listen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking archiveofourown won't let me edit the chapter.   
> It starts with   
> "Mike was"  
> Not  
> "was"
> 
> Sorry about that

was sitting outside Will's hospital ward; his entire body felt heavy and unmovable.

Will wasn't expected to survive.

As Mike was going it over in his head, he felt guilt swell up inside him and consume him from the inside out. Like a black smoke that filled his entire body and no matter how hard he coughed or screamed it wouldn't get out of his system.  
He had tried to save him. But he let him down.

He looked to his side and saw Dustin and Lucas sleeping. He didn't know how they could do it.  
Mike hadn't slept much at all that week, knowing that Will was out there; in danger.  
He sure as hell couldn't sleep now, knowing that Will was predicted to pass away tonight.

If only they had gotten to him a day earlier.

 

At that moment, Jonathan appeared at the door. His hands were shaking and he tried his best to hide his tears.  
He said nothing.  
And Mike knew.  
Everyone knew.

The room was already silent, but somehow it felt even quieter. It deafened Mike; to the point that all he could hear was an impossible ringing in his head.

The silence echoed throughout everyone crowded outside the ward.  
It was an unvoiced truth. Unwanted, and unavoidable.

The bitter disbelief ate at Mike, consuming him from the inside out until he felt hollow enough to echo with each aching thump of his heart.

He knew it was going to happen. But at the back of his mind he had been clinging to some hope, any hope that he would survive.

He felt overcome with grief, and numb with shock at the same time. It was overwhelming.

He stood up slowly.  
Nobody looked at him. He had never felt more invisible in his life. Not just to them. To himself. 

With quick footsteps, he walked briskly out into the night.  
Once he was outside, he began to run.  
He didn't know where he was going.  
He ran and ran until his legs burned with a pain so fierce that he collapsed onto his knees.

He looked at the dull tarmac ground, illuminated a slight shade of blue in the moonlight.

Then he screamed. His voice sounded far away, as if it wasn't his at all. He felt as if he was watching someone else have control of his body.

A loud, aching sob exploded from his body. And he couldn't stop. He cried and cried and screamed until he was too exhausted and empty to even move.

He lay down on the pavement, too worn out to even kneel up any more.

He felt a cold whisper at the back of his head when he lay down.  
He stared up at the stars. And for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep.

-

Will's second funeral was quiet.  
There were no jokes at this one.  
The three kids were silent, their faces swarmed with tears.

They had barely spoken to one another after that night. If they were honest, it hurt to see each other.

Mike watched as his friend was lowered into the ground, surrounded in a black coffin with white flowers at the top.

He closed his eyes and he saw Will. He saw his wide smile. He felt his presence run through his body. He heard his soft voice. He could almost smell his scent of pine needles and forestland, as if he had a wild and free nature inside of him that only Mike saw.

And at that moment, he realised that he loved him. And he was gone.

"No! Stop!" His voice cracked and he ran towards the coffin. "Please!" 

His mother ran to him and pulled him back, holding her son as tears ran down her face.

Mike screamed. "No! Oh god no! Please don't do this!"  
He started to sob, finding himself unable to hold himself up. His mother sank to the ground with him, still holding him with a grip strong enough to leave bruises.

Mike buried his face into her shoulder, trying to drown his senses in her scent.  
But he could still smell the forest. He could still see Will's wide eyes and hear the echoing of his laughter.

-

Mike didn't go to the after party. He felt sick at the thought of food and drink. He felt even worse at the thought of having to talk about Will, when his senses were still swamped in the wilderness.

He sat down in the basement, in his usual chair. Opposite Will.  
He was holding the small figure of Will's D&D character.  
Mike had decided that Will was to be buried with it. But he couldn't let it go.

A small tear rolled down his face and he set the figure to the side, resting his head on the table.

"What's wrong, Mike?" 

Mike jumped upright, and saw Will sitting opposite him.  
"W-Will?" He stuttered. He wanted to reach across the table and hug him, but he was frozen. "I thought you were dead."

Will looked down at his hands. He looked normal, like he had the day he was taken to the Upside Down; in a blue flannel and with his hair perfectly in place.  
"I am, Mike." He looked up at his friend again and smiled sadly.

Mike slapped himself and shook his head. "Jesus. I'm going crazy! You're not real."

A tear slipped from Will's eye, and he wiped it away quickly. "I'm as real as I was when I was alive. I don't know what to do to prove that to you."

Mike squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to believe him. His thoughts were chaotic, a never ending furor of guilt, shock and utter incredulity. A private cacophony in absolute contrast to the hushed, somber room around him.  
And he couldn't make it stop. Could not slow the torrent long enough to wallow in any single emotion, or puzzle out any one question he had for his dead friend.  
He could only sit and stare.

"I love you." He said at last, his gaze boring through Will, scared that if he looked away, he would be gone again.  
Saying it out loud helped that last little bit of certainty slip into place, and he felt his chest loosen. One long breath from his throat, and he sank deeper into his seat. A tension he hadn't even felt began to ease through his body.

"I know." Will said. Tears began slipping down his cheeks, as unavoidable as his death. "I love you too. I always have."

Mike reached across the table and kissed him. His lips felt soft and warm. And for a minute Mike was sure that Will was still alive. His heart was still pumping blood in his chest. But the minute passed as quick as it came, and Mike pulled back.

He hadn't noticed he was also crying, until he felt his shirt beginning to wet.  
"Don't leave." He whispered, inaudible.

Will tried to smile. It was shaky but comforting. "I'm sorry Mike. I have to."

Mike blinked, and he was gone.  
He sat, unable to move. Unable to feel.

And then he felt flames explode in him. He felt it prickling his skin and engulfing him in rage.  
It wasn't fair.  
He yelled and threw the table across the room. It hit the wall and shattered.  
He collapsed to the floor, sobbing.  
It wasn't fair.

His mom ran down the stairs. She stood at the bottom and looked at the table, and then back to her son.  
"Oh god, Mike." She knelt down next to him and hugged him, and he gladly allowed himself to be taken into her arms.  
"It's not fair." He whispered.  
"I know, I know it's not." She rubbed his back soothingly.

Mike cried and she held him until he stopped.  
Eventually he did.  
"Come on honey. I'll make you some hot coco."  
She helped him get up and lead him by the hand up the stairs.

Mike turned around one last time and saw Will sitting on the couch, holding his D&D figure in his hand.  
When he saw Mike looking at him, he smiled reassuringly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is terrible and a crappy comeback but I wanted to write


	22. Season 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all about Mike coming to terms with his feelings for Will. I hope you enjoy and I'm sorry for the hiatus, I've been putting a lot of work into my editing.
> 
> (Contains spoilers for season 2)
> 
> ALL FICS BEYOND THIS CHAPTER WERE WRITTEN AFTER SEASON2 CAME OUT

Mike was supposed to be happy. He had everything he wanted. El was missing for over a year, and he finally had her back in his arms.

After El had closed The Gate, things slowly went back to the way they were. Not completely, though. It never would. Will was still struggling with trauma, he had nightmares often, and was on multiple different kinds of medication.  
El was staying with Hopper, she could live a normal life to the best of her ability.  
Lucas and Max were in love. Dustin was still chasing after her, not able to get over his heartbreak.

Everything on the outside was calm. But in the inside, it was a complete different story for Mike Wheeler.  
He wasn't happy. Everyone around him seemed to be enjoying their lives but he was battling so many different emotions at once.

He kissed El at the Snowball. He expected to feel a rush of butterflies like he did the first time he kissed her. But he didn't.  
A year had gone by, and he had changed. He had grown to love someone else.  
He still cared about El. He didn't want her to leave him again. But he didn't like her as much in a romantic way as he thought. And he didn't know how to cope with that.  
For so long he had dreamed of them reuniting, and everything fixing itself once she was there. But he was still stuck with this confused feeling when he was with her, which stressed him out instead of making him happy.

With Will, it was different. 

He didn't know when he had grown to like him in a romantic way. It had burned over a long time.  
His relationship with Eleven burned bright and fast, and went out much faster.

He didn't know who he could talk to other than Dustin. Lucas was always out with Max, and he sure as hell wasn't ready to bring it up with El or Will.

So he did, when they were cycling home from Lucas' house. Will had got a lift home with Jonathan.

He looked over at Dustin cycling next to him. His curls were illuminated in the city lamps. "D-Dustin?"

Dustin glanced to the side to Mike, not really fully listening. "Yeah man?"

Mike breathed in a shaky breath. "I'm not happy with El."  
At this, Dustin stopped his bike. "What are you talking about? All you ever did was mope about her for a full year. I heard you on the channel. You'd never shut up about her."

Mike stopped too. "I know. But my fantasy wasn't what I was expecting. I don't.." he sighed. "FEEL anything with her. And I can't figure out why."

The curly haired boy looked confused. "The grass is always greener, I get it. But why are you even with her if you're not happy?"

Mike leaned his arms on the handlebars of his bike. He was shaking but trying to act calm. "Because -" He paused, "I think I'm gay."

Dustin froze. "Oh - okay." He swallowed. "Is there a reason you think that?"

Mike turned around to face Dustin. He was terrified, tears threatening to spill. "Will."

Dustin nodded. "Okay." He let out a long breath through his nose. "Mike, you're one of my best friends. I'll support you through anything, okay man? But you have to tell El. It's not fair on her."

Mike was surprised at how well Dustin took it. "Y-yeah. I've been wanting to tell her but I'm so scared of loosing her. I love her a lot." He said, "Just not like that."

Dustin got off his bike and rolled it next to Mike. "It's okay, dude. You're not alone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isnt very long but ive had a very busy weekend  
> -oli


End file.
